Washington, April 9: US President Donald Trump’s threats to wipe out Iran, “a whole civilisation,” ended the restraint that Democrats have mostly practiced when it comes to questions of removing him from office in his second term.
By the dozens, Democrats came out to say that Trump should no longer serve in the White House, either through the impeachment process or the 25th Amendment, which allows the vice president and the Cabinet to declare that a president is no longer able to perform the job.
While Trump eventually pulled back on his threat and agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, the episode highlighted the growing demands for Democrats to oppose the Republican president in the strongest possible terms. Calls about Iran flooded into congressional offices, lawmakers said.
The breadth of the Democratic pushback underscored the gravity of Trump’s apocalyptic threat to a country of more than 91 million people. It also served to raise the domestic political stakes for a conflict that is far from over. The Trump administration faces mounting calls to testify about the war and justify its demands for hundreds of billions of dollars in new military spending.
“A commander in chief who is truly in control would have never gotten into this colossal mess to begin with,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer at a news conference Wednesday in New York.
Trump optimistic about peace talks
Trump says Iranian leaders are more amendable to dealmaking in private conversations than they are in their public statements.
The Iranians “talk much differently when you’re at a meeting than they do to the press. They’re much more reasonable,” Trump told NBC News during a phone interview. “They’re agreeing to all the things that they have to agree to. Remember, they’ve been conquered. They have no military.”
He added: “If they don’t make a deal, it’s going to be very painful.”
The president also said he’s “very optimistic” about the prospects of reaching a peace deal during talks in Pakistan.
Supreme leader declares victory over US, Israel
Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei says the Iranian people are the “definitive victors” in the conflict.
“Today, it is clear before everyone’s eyes, the dawn of the Islamic Republic’s emergence as a great power while the evil is facing the downhill slope of weakness,” he said in a statement read by an anchor on state TV.
Khamenei has not been seen or heard in public since he replaced his father, Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the first day of the war.
The younger Khamenei also mentioned the upcoming ceasefire talks with the U.S. and pledged there would be a “new era” in the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. has demanded that Iran reopen the strategic waterway as part of the ceasefire. (AP)
