Mockery as Trump baffles with Iran reversal: 'You could say the mission was accomplished'
President Donald Trump appeared to do a complete 180 on Monday about his war in Iran, telling CBS News White House correspondent Weijia Jiang “I think the war is very complete, pretty much. They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no Air Force.”
This was a complete reversal from Trump and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth's previous assertions that full regime change was necessary, which appeared to be setting up a much longer and wider-scale engagement — and it was met with mockery and confusion from commenters on social media.
"He went from 'unconditional surrender' and 'I must pick their new leader' to full 'just declare victory and get the hell out' TACO Trump," wrote Meidas Touch's Ron Filipkowski, echoing an internet acronym that stands for "Trump Always Chickens Out."
"This despite Secretary Pete Hegseth telling 60 Minutes last night that we are in the early days of the war," wrote HuffPost's Yashar Ali. "President Macron of France — not suggesting he speaks for the U.S. or for Trump — just said he expects it to last a few more weeks."
"So which is it? -This is 'just the beginning' of the U.S. war in Iran, Hegseth told 60 Minutes on Friday. - The war in Iran is 'very complete, pretty much,' Trump tells @weijia today," wrote Washington Post security reporter John Hudson.
"The downside of launching a war with no clear strategic objectives or realistic endgame is, well, just about everything," wrote former State Department and DOJ spokesman Matthew Miller. "The upside is you can declare victory and go home at any point."
"Why, you could even say the mission was accomplished," wrote Journalist David Itzkoff, a nod at one of the most infamous backfired photo-ops of the George W. Bush administration in the early days of the Iraq War.
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