'Is That a Serious Question?': Trump Flips the Tables on Reporter Who Asked 'Preemptive Strike' Question
President-elect Donald Trump responded rather critically when a reporter made a bizarre query on Monday, asking if he would consider a preemptive strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“Well, I can’t tell you that. I mean, it’s a wonderful question, but how can I — am I going to do preemptive strikes? Why would I say that?” Trump responded, flipping the question right back at the journalist during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach, Florida.
“Can you imagine if I said ‘yes’ or ‘no’? You would say, ‘That was strange that he answered that way.’ Am I going to do preemptive strikes on Iran? Is that a serious question? How could I answer a question like that?” Trump wondered.
The purpose of a preemptive strike is to beat your enemy before they hit you and usually implies an element of surprise. A military certainly doesn’t announce preemptive strikes. That would make it far less likely to succeed.
President-elect Trump on preemptive strikes against Iran: “Is that a serious question? How could I answer a question like that?…You don’t talk about that before something may or may not happen…” pic.twitter.com/HT3lOxRnqv
— CSPAN (@cspan) December 16, 2024
Perhaps, the most famous preemptive strike in modern warfare was during the Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel launched one against the Egyptian military, devastating its air force on the ground.
Egypt had blockaded the Straits of Tiran, preventing all shipping going to and from Israel in the region a little over two weeks before and massed troops on the Jewish state’s southern border.
On Monday, the reporter followed up with Trump, asking, “Would you be in support of Israeli strikes on Iran?”
“How could I tell you a thing like that now?” the president-elect replied. “You don’t talk about that before something may or may not happen. I don’t want to insult you, I just think it’s just not something that I would ever answer — having to do with there or any other place in the world.”
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Trump is weighing his options in confronting Iranian aggression, including a potential air strike against its nuclear weapons facilities.
“Trump has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent calls that he is concerned about an Iranian nuclear breakout on his watch, two people familiar with their conversations said, signaling he is looking for proposals to prevent that outcome,” the Journal said.
“The president-elect wants plans that stop short of igniting a new war, particularly one that could pull in the U.S. military, as strikes on Tehran’s nuclear facilities have the potential [to] put the U.S. and Iran on a collision course,” the news outlet added.
Iran is believed to currently have enough highly enriched uranium to build four nuclear bombs.
When asked by Time if war with Iran was possible in his next term, Trump responded, “Anything can happen. It’s a very volatile situation.”
In October during a campaign town hall in North Carolina, Trump indicated he would be in support of Israel hitting Iran’s nuclear sites in retaliation for Tehran’s missile strikes on the Jewish state.
Hit the Nuclear First, Worry About the Rest Later’: Trump Urges Israel to Attack Iran
As long as they don’t hit the nuclear stuff.’ That’s the thing you want to hit, right?” Trump continued, “Isn’t that what you’re supposed to hit? I mean, it’s the biggest risk we have, nuclear… pic.twitter.com/PnBwNjs20F
— Global First News (@GlobalFrstNews) October 6, 2024
“That’s the thing you want to hit, right?” Trump said, adding, “Isn’t that what you’re supposed to hit? I mean, it’s the biggest risk we have: nuclear weapons.”
“Hit the nuclear first, and worry about the rest later,” he concluded.
So Trump has given some pretty big clues on where he stands but hasn’t stated outright whether he backs a preemptive strike against Iran by the U.S. or Israel or in a combined operation, nor should he.
Trump’s right, that was a stupid question.
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