This week, the United States faced a glimpse of potential consequences from President Donald Trump’s recklessness when Iran fired a barrage of missiles at two U.S. bases in Iraq. There were no casualties, but some Iranian leaders suggested that the attacks would continue, all of which are meant in retaliation for Trump’s abrupt assassination of top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, who was a political leader in the country. Nevertheless, Republicans like the House Judiciary Committee’s top Republican Doug Collins (Ga.) have stayed all in behind the president to the point of claiming that his Democratic opponents “love terrorists” — but this Friday, Collins apologized for that remark.
Perhaps he was cognizant of the ready-made anti-GOP ad material that he’d served up via his belligerent televised meltdown. No matter his stated apology, he did try to defend his general sentiment and his support of the president, who launched the Soleimani assassination without any systematic consultation of Congress.
Collins tweeted:
‘Let me be clear: I do not believe Democrats are in love with terrorists, and I apologize for what I said earlier this week. The comment I made on Wednesday evening was in response to a question about… House Democrats’ attempt to limit the president’s authority. As someone who served in Iraq in 2008, I witnessed firsthand the brutal death of countless soldiers who were torn to shreds by this vicious terrorist. Soleimani was nothing less than an evil mastermind who viciously killed and wounded thousands of Americans. These images will live with me for the rest of my life, but that does not excuse my response on Wednesday evening.’
Topping off his commentary on the incident, Collins insisted that he’s “committed to working with my colleagues in Congress and with my fellow citizens to keep all Americans safe” — although, the recent impeachment proceedings against the president gave him a spotlight to display a gushing stream of his partisan animosity.
Disgusting. As US ambassador to Russia, I became accustomed to addressing disinformation Putin propagated about Americans. I never expected that elected Members of Congress would engage in the same, making grotesque false statements about fellow Americans. Stop this nonsense. https://t.co/Y4oif0wv5j
— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) January 9, 2020
To be clear, no matter Collins and others resorting to evidence of Soleimani’s attacks against Americans in support of their “my way or the highway!” approach, the only options are not supporting the president’s reckless, brash behavior or loving terrorists, although Trump himself posted a tweet to that effect. In reality, Democrats like those who passed a War Powers Resolution this week condemning the president’s actions against Iran and demanding Congressional consultation before any more simply seek to draw Trump back from his literal scorched earth approach. Americans are in danger when Trump sends the whole situation up in flames too!
Check out Twitter’s response to Collins
