'Say what?' Outrage as cost of Trump's first week at war with Iran revealed
Experts raged on Wednesday night after the cost of President Donald Trump's first week at war with Iran was revealed.
The Associated Press reported that the first week of the war cost $11.3 billion, which includes all of the munitions used in the bombing operations that killed former Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and destroyed a girls' school, killing 175 civilians in the process. The report was published at a time when the Trump administration is facing considerable backlash for bombing Iran, which Trump himself described as both a "war" and an "excursion" during a press conference on Wednesday.
The total cost of the war caused a stir on social media.
"Say what? How can we afford these massive outlays?" political strategist Donna Brazile posted on X. "Every President since Clinton has opposed Iran getting a bomb, destroying the neighbors (Middle Eastern nations), and being a state sponsor of terrorism worldwide. But we still have no real strategy or endgame?"
"That money was enough to save the lives of more than 3 million children worldwide, with nutritional paste for malnutrition, bed nets against malaria, vaccination programs, and community health workers," NYT columnist Nicholas Kristoff posted on X. "Instead, we spent it blowing up people and things, and raising gas prices."
"$11.3 billion on war for Iran, but tell me again how we don’t have enough money for health care," Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) posted on X.
"Affordability," legal expert Joyce Vance posted on X. "From the people who don’t think hardworking taxpayers deserve assistance with food, medical care, or housing."
"The same people who cut pediatric cancer research on their 'waste, fraud, and abuse' crusade apparently have a blank check for a war they can't even explain," author Chasten Buttigieg posted on X.
"We could have provided housing for every homeless person in the country for less than what Trump spent in the first week of his war with Iran," TV commentator Kaivan Shroff posted on X.