Trump Claims He Spoke To Ex-US President About Iran. All 4 Of His Living Predecessors Deny It.
Donald Trump claimed twice on Monday that he had spoken directly to one of his presidential predecessors who had expressed approval for his bombing of Iran.
The only trouble is representatives for all four of the living former presidents said they had not spoken to Trump about the war in the Middle East.
An aide for George W Bush said he has not “been in touch” with Trump.
A spokesperson for Bill Clinton said the current president was not referring to him in the anecdote.
An aide for Barack Obama said he has had “no recent conversations” with Trump while an insider close to Joe Biden said the current president was not talking about him either, according to NBC News.
On Monday, Trump told Kennedy Centre board members: “I’ve spoken to a certain president – who I like, actually.
“A past president, former president, he said: ‘I wish I did it. I wish I did.’
“But they didn’t do it. I’m doing it. Yeah?”
He made the same claim later in the day, telling the media from the Oval Office: “I spoke to one of the former presidents who I actually like.”
He added: “I actually speak to some. And he said, ‘I wish I did what you did.’”
Trump did not tell the media exactly who he was referring to, only saying it was not Bush.
“I spoke to one of the former presidents who I actually like. I actually speak to some. And he said, ‘I wish I did what you did,’” the president claimed.
Trump continued: “I don’t want to say because a member of a party, a member of a party, they have Trump derangement syndrome, but it’s somebody that happens to like me, and I like that person, who’s a smart person, but that person said, ‘I wish I did it.’
“OK, but I don’t want to get into who. I don’t want to get him into trouble. You know it’s interesting. And maybe he’d be proud.
“And I could even ask him that: ‘Would you like me to reveal your name?’”
Trump’s decision to bomb Iran at the end of February has been widely criticised for being unlawful and poorly planned.
International allies have also refused Trump’s call for them to send warships to the region.
UK prime minister Keir Starmer insisted on Monday that Britain “will not be drawn into the wider war”.