Republicans in Congress are so desperate to defend Donald Trump’s reckless escalation with Iran that they’re using photoshopped pictures that show a smiling Barack Obama meeting with the Iranian president.
In a tweet, GOP Rep. Paul Gosar shared the doctored photograph with the caption, “The world is a better place without these guys in power.”
The world is a better place without these guys in power. pic.twitter.com/gDoXQu9vO5
— Paul Gosar (@DrPaulGosar) January 6, 2020
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But as Aaron Blake of The Washington Post pointed out, there are two problems with Rep. Gosar’s nonsensical tweet.
First, Barack Obama never met with Iranian leader Hassan Rouhani. In fact, the real image is actually of Obama meeting with former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh, not the president of Iran.
The second problem is that Rouhani is actually still in power, despite Gosar’s claim that the “world is a better place without” him.
Republican lawmakers already look foolish shielding this unhinged and corrupt president. They only humiliate themselves further when they defend him in such patently absurd ways.
Trump is opening the doors for a nuclear Iran
The president and his Republican defenders in Congress, including Rep. Paul Gosar, are pointing to the strike on Iran as evidence that Donald Trump is tough, unlike Barack Obama.
But in reality, Trump’s strategy to deal with Iran – to the extent that a strategy exists – has been reckless and weak. It has only emboldened the Iranians to act more aggressively – and they have.
All of this can be traced directly back to the president’s decision to rip up an agreement – crafted by the Obama-Biden administration – between the Iranians and six other world powers that kept a lid on Iran’s nuclear program.
Even though the Iranians were holding up their end of the deal, Trump – childishly insecure about anything that has Barack Obama’s name on it – withdrew and slapped sanctions on Iran.
Now, Iran has resumed its pursuit of a nuclear weapon, the Middle East is becoming even more unstable and Trump is ratcheting up U.S. military engagement in the region, despite his campaign promise to put an end to needless wars.
Donald Trump and Donald Trump alone is to blame for the unfolding crisis in the Middle East. There has been nothing smart or strong about his Iran strategy.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
