CNN GOP Town Hall in S.C.: on War & Peace


Donald Trump: FactCheck: Supported Iraq invasion in 2002; opposed in 2003

Trump has claimed that he opposed the Iraq War before the invasion began--as an example of his great judgment. But in a 2002 interview with Howard Stern, Donald Trump said he supported an Iraq invasion. In an interview on Sept. 11, 2002, Stern asked Trump directly if he was for invading Iraq. "Yeah I guess so," Trump responded. "I wish the first time it was done correctly."

Trump has repeatedly claimed that he was against the Iraq War before it began, despite no evidence of him publicly stating this position. Trump's comments on Stern's show are more in line with what he wrote in his 2000 book, The America We Deserve, where he advocated for a "principled and tough" policy toward "outlaw" states like Iraq.

Asked at the CNN town hall about the Stern interview, Trump said, "I could have said that. I wasn't a politician. It was probably the first time anyone has asked me that question. By the time the war started, I was against it, and shortly thereafter, I was really against."

Source: Buzzfeed FactCheck on 2016 CNN GOP Town Hall Feb 19, 2016

  • The above quotations are from CNN GOP Town Hall in South Carolina, Feb. 17-18, 2016 (on eve of South Carolina primary).
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Robert Steele(L-NY)
Dr.Jill Stein(G,MA)
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Page last updated: Dec 08, 2018