Salem Radio Network host Scott Jennings clashed with Washington Post intelligence analyst Josh Rogin over the progress of Operation Epic Fury on Thursday, questioning if Rogin could see a glass as “half-full.”
President Donald Trump announced Operation Epic Fury in a video posted on Truth Social Feb. 28 after attempts to negotiate a cessation of Iran’s efforts to acquire nuclear weapons failed. Rogin cited climbing gas prices due to the surge in the price of oil, prompting Jennings to note that prices were higher during the Biden administration.
“There’s risk in everything. Every decision a President makes has risk and none are riskier than the decision to commit troops to the theater of war. Not just because of what can happen in the theater, but because of what can happen at home,” Jennings said. “Gas looks like it’s $3.73 a gallon. It got somewhat higher than that during the Biden administration. We haven’t gotten back to those numbers yet.”
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“But for candidates, going out and talking to people, they’re in a little bit different situation than the commander-in-chief who has to look at a national security situation. They have intelligence that nobody else has and they have to make decisions knowing full well the risks that come with it,” Jennings continued. “He made the call, the polling by the way, among the Republican Party and among the MAGA-friendly voters is quite clear. They trust the President on this. How long it lasts and when we get out, we’ll make a difference on that. Right now-”
“CNN NewsNight” host Abby Phillip interrupted, claiming that Trump’s supporters only made up three-tenths of the population.
“This is the most unpopular war in American history for good reason. The longer it goes on, the worse those numbers are going to look. There is no instance in history of prolonged war benefiting any nation,” Rogin claimed, with Jennings responding, “How do you know it’s going to be prolonged?”
“Because that’s the story of pretty much every war ever,” Rogin maintained, with Jennings firing back with, “How long did the Venezuela war last?”
Rogin then denied that the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro was a “war.” Trump awarded the Medal of Honor to Army Chief Warrant Officer Five Eric Slover during his Feb. 24 State of the Union address for heroism despite being wounded by Venezuelan fire during the operation.
“We haven’t declared war. You’re saying a three-week situation is the most unpopular thing we’ve ever done,” Jennings told Rogan after they jousted over the Vietnam War and the Afghanistan War.
“I’m saying that Americans understand what’s clear, which is that this is getting worse every day and expanding every day. The war is expanding. More countries are getting attacked. The energy crisis is growing. The economic crisis is growing. Inflation is growing. Extremism and attacks on the homeland are growing. Everything is getting worse every day. And the war is expanding, despite President Trump saying-” Rogin said before Jennings cut him off with, “You’re not exactly a glass-half-full kind of guy, are you?”
Polling released shortly after Operation Epic Fury began shows that only 27% of Americans supported hitting Iran. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has also seen his polling numbers decline, according to CNN data reporter Harry Enten.
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