Radio host Charlamagne Tha God said on Monday that it seems hypocritical for lawmakers to condemn President Donald Trump striking Iran’s nuclear sites without congressional approval.
Trump faced bipartisan backlash for the bombing of Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan, with Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez even calling to impeach the president. Charlamagne, on “The Breakfast Club,” agreed that Trump should have gotten congressional approval — but noted past presidents have acted similarly without facing such opposition. (RELATED: Lindsey Graham Says He Does Not Anticipate American ‘Boots On The Ground’ In Iran)
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“This is one of those times where politicians sound like hypocrites because [Democratic Arizona Sen.] Mark Kelly is right: presidents should get congressional approval,” Charlamagne said. “But there have been a bunch of presidents who have ordered strikes without congressional approval.”
“Barack Obama did it against Libya. Joe Biden ordered strikes in Iraq and Syria without congressional approval. Bill Clinton did it to Kosovo,” he continued. “So presidents ordering military action without congressional approval has become pretty routine. So, is it always a thing when they do it? I’m just asking, I don’t know.”
Journalist Morgyn Wood did not directly address Charlamagne’s question, but noted Ocasio-Cortez’s call to impeach Trump. The congresswoman posted on X Saturday that Trump’s “disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers” and “is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”
Charlamagne then asked why other presidents were not impeached for striking countries without congressional approval. Wood noted that while other presidents were not impeached, members of Congress did discuss it in the past.
However, co-host DJ Envy said “backlash” to previous presidents was incomparable to what Trump was facing.
“Yeah, I don’t even remember hearing about it during the Joe Biden administration,” Charlamagne said.
“But I guess that’s because the way Trump has been moving,” Envy added. “But we haven’t heard about it when Obama did it, we didn’t hear about it when Biden did it.”
However, Charlamagne said he did recall Obama facing criticism from Congress for not receiving their approval for strikes. He said he did not hear opposition to Biden.
“I don’t remember the Biden thing at all,” he said. “I don’t remember that even making a headline.”
Charlamagne said he did not learn about Biden’s strikes until Sunday evening when he read an NBC News article titled, “Presidents’ ordering military action without Congress’ approval has become routine. Here’s why.”
In the wake of the strikes, Trump called for regime change in Iran through a post to his Truth Social account Sunday. Iran is considering blocking all ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz in response to the strikes.
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