President Donald Trump apparently determined to bomb Iran and “get in on the motion” Saturday after watching Fox News reward Israel for putting the nation earlier this month, says New York Instances reporter Helene Cooper, who cited Pentagon and Trump administration officers.
Cooper argued Monday on MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes” that Trump beforehand prided himself on being a noninterventionist, and mentioned he maintained an “America First” perspective even after Israel attacked Iran on June 13, however {that a} shift occurred the very subsequent day.
“One official advised me that it began as early as the subsequent morning when President Trump wakened and watched Fox Information and began to see how effectively Israel was being introduced as doing,” Cooper, who also spoke with U.S. military and Pentagon officials, mentioned Monday.
“Israel was hitting all of those Iranian websites, it was taking out navy commanders, nuclear scientists, and that was being introduced on Fox as this enormous victory,” she continued.
“And he determined that he needed a chunk of it,” she mentioned of Trump.
Cooper defined that the president then began taking credit score for a few of Israel’s operations, citing a June 17 social media publish wherein Trump said “We” have taken control of Iran’s airspace, and {that a} meeting with his national security advisers cemented the choice to enter the conflict.
“He got here again early from that G7 assembly and referred to as his advisers ― his nationwide safety advisers to satisfy with him,” Cooper mentioned Monday. “And by then he had just about determined that he needed to get his piece, you realize, get in on the motion.”
Cooper contributed to a Times report on Sunday that expanded on the matter.
The report famous that Trump had “warned” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to not strike Iran whereas a nuclear deal with the country was scheduled for dialogue, solely to vary his tune after Israel killed prime Iranian officers on June 13.
“They paid shut consideration to the statements of Tucker Carlson, the influential podcaster and former Fox Information host, who was vehemently against the USA becoming a member of Israel in taking up Iran,” the Instances reported, including Carlson’s pushback “infuriated” Trump.
“The president was intently monitoring Fox Information, which was airing wall-to-wall reward of Israel’s navy operation and that includes company urging Mr. Trump to get extra concerned,” the outlet famous. “A number of Trump advisers lamented the truth that Mr. Carlson was not on Fox, which meant that Mr. Trump was not listening to a lot of the opposite aspect of the talk.”
The Instances reported that the Trump administration was monitoring how his base was reacting on social media to the prospect of a brand new U.S. conflict, which has divided the MAGA motion into staunch noninterventionist and seeming pro-war camps.
Trump claimed Tuesday morning that he’ll try to stop Israel from further attacking Iran after confirming that the ceasefire he touted Monday had already been violated by both sides.
He additional advised reporters that a new tentative ceasefire is “in impact.”
