California Democrats slammed President Donald Trump over the weekend following his decision to launch a military attack on Iran on Saturday.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said that Trump’s explanations for the assault amounted to a “manufactured crisis,” and that while Iran’s leadership “must go,” Trump is waging an “illegal, dangerous war.”
Some Democrats looking to succeed Newsom also sounded off: U.S. Rep Eric Swalwell said Congress must answer “hell no” if asked for permission to go to war, and Tom Steyer wrote that Trump has “no respect” for human life.
The airstrikes, carried out in coordination with Israel, killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled the country since 1989. More than 40 Iranian political and military leaders were killed, Trump said Sunday. Iran state media reported that an airstrike killed more than 150 children at a girls’ school. Three American troops were killed in the conflict. Meanwhile, at least nine Israelis have been killed in retaliatory strikes from Iran.
Trump said more U.S. servicemember deaths are likely.
The president signaled the conflict could last four weeks to achieve “peace throughout the Middle East,” but also indicated that he’s again open to negotiations with the Iranian government.
On Sunday Silicon Valley Rep. Ro Khanna said that “Khamenei was a brutal dictator, but Americans are not safer today.” It was a sentiment U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff of California echoed, adding that Iran “posed no imminent threat of attack.”
Congressional Democrats, as well as a few Republicans, are pushing for a vote early this week on whether to end the U.S. bombing of Iran. The president can veto Congress’ decision.
Trump has called for regime change in Iran, urging Iranians to “take over your government,” once the strikes end. But U.S.-led efforts to overthrow governments and encourage popular uprisings have a multi-decade history of bloodshed and frequent failure. Ten years ago, Trump said the U.S. should “abandon” regime-change efforts.
Californians, meanwhile, appear split about the military conflict. As hundreds of anti-war demonstrators rallied in San Francisco on Saturday, some Iranian-Americans supported the move, and in Los Angeles, celebrations broke out.
Schiff on Sunday said he supports Iranians following the killing of Khamenei, but that if they “rise up,” the U.S. “cannot fight this war for you.”