Posted on Monday, June 23, 2025
|
by Shane Harris
|
79 Comments
|
There is a debate to be had about whether the crippling strike on Iran’s nuclear program over the weekend was in the long-term best interests of the United States. But the left’s unhinged reaction to what was unquestionably a stunning military success – and one well within the historic scope of presidential authority – will only further tank Democrats’ standing with the American people.
The dust hadn’t yet settled over the former site of Iran’s Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant before Democrats were calling for Trump’s impeachment. “The President’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted on X. “It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”
A chorus of other Democrats echoed AOC’s outrage. “Congress must be fully and immediately briefed in a classified setting,” an apoplectic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stated. “Donald Trump shoulders complete and total responsibility for any adverse consequences that flow from his unilateral military action.” Senator Bernie Sanders, meanwhile, called Trump’s action “grossly unconstitutional.”
Democrats’ reaction has failed to meet the moment and misread the public. Many Americans are indeed justifiably wary of another drawn-out Middle East war. But the left has once again reflexively fixated on Trump rather than the issue itself, exposing that they care more about bashing the President than any actual ideological opposition to striking Iran’s nuclear facilities or “unconstitutional” use of presidential authority. (Does anybody really believe AOC would be calling for impeachment if a Democrat were in the Oval Office?)
It was not too long ago when the Democrat Party was cheering on Barack Obama’s unilateral campaign of drone strikes in Libya, Syria, Pakistan, and Yemen. In total, Obama launched 542 drone strikes that killed 3,797 people – yet he’s still held up as a godlike figure within the Democrat Party.
Democrats’ outrage is so blatantly hypocritical that even some liberal pundits have called them out. “It needs to be said by more Democrats: this was not an impeachable offense, and Trump did not need congressional approval for one precision attack under the circumstances, just as Obama did not when striking Bin Laden,” Dan Turrentine, who calls himself a “proud Dem politico,” posted on X. “For so many in my Party to knee jerk with unhinged calls for impeachment – and sadly omit in their statement support for Iran not having nuclear weapons, which has been a principle of our Party for 40 years – is truly TDS [Trump Derangement Syndrome].”
Of course, some liberals are so afflicted with TDS that in the wake of the attack, they were expressing support for Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terror. That was the case for Richard Stengel, a former Undersecretary of State for President Obama, who is now a political analyst for MSNBC. During an appearance on the network on Sunday, after being asked about Iranians chanting “death to America,” Stengel, incredibly, claimed that they don’t really mean it.
“I went to Iran in 2014,” Stengel said – before also revealing that he heard the “death to America” chant in person. He then incredibly claims, “[They] love American culture, [they] love American movies. Iran is the most Western nation in the whole Middle East… We have much more in common with them than with a lot of countries that we do have alliances with.”
That’s right. According to Stengel, a country that pours acid on women for not wearing their hijab properly, calls for the destruction of the United States, and executes political dissidents is the “most Western nation in the whole Middle East” – apparently even including Israel, the only true democracy in the region.
The left-wing protest machine has also taken up the cause of defending Iran, swapping out their Hamas and Mexican flags for Iranian flags. Pro-Iran demonstrations were seen in New York, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere over the weekend, with some holding signs that read “hands off Iran.”
The irony of those displays almost defies belief. After spending a decade denouncing Trump as an “authoritarian” and “fascist,” leftists are now openly rallying around Iran, an actual fascist authoritarian regime. They are so blinded by their hatred for Trump that they are actively supporting the very thing they claim to be trying to destroy.
For a Democrat Party that is in dire straits with voters, this is political malpractice of the highest order. Most Americans may not cheer for more conflict in the Middle East, but they surely do not sympathize with Iran’s dictatorship.
Moreover, Americans expect their leaders – regardless of party – to show at least a shred of patriotism when American service members carry out a dangerous, high-stakes mission. Instead, Democrats can’t even bring themselves to thank the military. Their obsession with Trump has completely consumed them, to the point that any victory for him – even a successful strategic strike on a nuclear threat – is treated as a national tragedy.
That instinct will alienate not just conservatives, but independents and moderate Democrats who still believe in showing some basic loyalty to their own country.
Shane Harris is the Editor in Chief of AMAC Newsline. You can follow him on X @shaneharris513.
Read full article here