So here's a little political intrigue for your Monday. President Donald Trump says he's been chatting with a former president—someone he actually likes, which narrows it down a bit—and this mystery ex-commander-in-chief has some regrets. Specifically, about Iran.
Trump shared this story during a meeting of the board of trustees of the Kennedy Center, which he chairs. "I've spoken to a certain president, who I like, actually, a past president, a former president. He said, 'I wish I did it…but they didn't do it. I'm doing it,'" Trump stated. The "it" here refers to Trump's current military strategy against Iran, which as of Monday had been going on for eighteen days.
He played coy about who it was, of course. "I can't tell you that. I don't want to embarrass him," Trump said. He repeated the claim later during a signing time at the Oval Office with Vice President JD Vance by his side.
Reporters tried to guess. George W. Bush? Trump refused. Bill Clinton? He wouldn't confirm, simply stating, "I don't want to say," and added that "it's somebody that happens to like me, and I like that person who's a smart person."
But he did drop a hint that might point you in a certain direction. Trump said, "he is a member of a party…they have Trump Derangement Syndrome." That's a phrase he often uses to describe Democrats, so the implication is there.
It's an interesting claim, especially since Trump has, on multiple occasions, severely criticized Barack Obama's Iran policies. He's also gone after Joe Biden's border moves. But in an interview with NBC News earlier this year, Trump said he likes Clinton, praising the ex-president's past behavior toward him and saying he felt understood by him. So, you know, the plot thickens.
Meanwhile, the actual war—the one Trump is "doing"—continues. And it's drawing fire from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Democratic senators and some Republicans have been vocally slamming Trump's Iran strategy. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) accused Trump of failing to foresee the crisis, stating that even a college student could predict Iran's leverage over the narrow passage.
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) expressed concern over the lack of clarity regarding the administration's objectives. She criticized the Trump administration for not being able to explain the reasons for entering the war, the goals they aim to achieve, and the methods for doing so.
On the Republican side, Congressman Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) criticized Trump's Iran strikes as unconstitutional and driven by Israel's interests, warning that killing Iran's former leader could backfire by turning him into a martyr.
As for other former presidents? Bush, Clinton, Obama, and Biden have not yet commented publicly on the ongoing war. So Trump's story about a regretful predecessor remains just that—a story, for now. Whether it's a strategic reveal, a bit of political theater, or something else, it adds another layer to a conflict that's already plenty complicated.
