One of the Republican senators close to Trump’s MAGA movement (Make America Great Again, Trump’s slogan) found himself in an awkward situation after making completely contradictory statements within a matter of seconds about the war against Iran.
Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma initially defended the U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran. “This is war, and we are removing a threat,” he told reporters.
CNN reporter Manu Raju immediately asked whether that meant he was acknowledging that it was indeed a war. “You are actually admitting that this is a war,” Raju said. Mullin then responded that the United States had not formally declared war. “We have not declared war. They declared war on us, but we have not,” he said.
The reporter reminded him of what he had just said, adding that both U.S. President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had already used the word “war” when speaking about the attacks on Iran.
Another reporter joined the exchange and reminded Mullin of his own statement. “A moment ago you said, ‘This is war,’” he told him.
“Others have called it a war,” Mullin replied, then acknowledged that he might have misspoken. “All right, maybe I misspoke. What I meant to say is that they declared war on us. War is ugly. It has always been ugly. But we are removing a regime that has been trying to attack us for a very long time,” he said.
“If we haven’t declared war, then it isn’t a war,” Raju tried again to get a clear answer. “You’re not acknowledging that this is a war?” he asked.
“We have not declared war. If we haven’t declared war, then I don’t see it as a war. The president has not yet asked us to declare war, but they declared war on us. We are simply removing a threat that has been at our doorstep for 47 years,” Mullin replied.
The recording of the exchange quickly spread across social media.
“Sounds like the Kremlin in March 2022.”
Historian Timothy Snyder compared such rhetoric to Russian propaganda after the start of the invasion of Ukraine. “This ‘it’s not a war but a special military operation’ sounds very much like the Kremlin in March 2022,” Snyder wrote on the platform X.
How did the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran begin? The war began last Saturday when the United States and Israel launched a large joint military operation against Iran called “Epic Fury.” The targets were Iranian military facilities, missile bases, and command infrastructure across the country.
In the attacks, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, dramatically escalating the crisis in the region. Iran then launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes toward Israel, U.S. bases, and other countries in the region, turning the conflict into an open war that is still ongoing.
Photo: Screenshot: CSpan
