WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's triumphant declaration that America has "won" the war in Iran is drawing swift and scathing pushback from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, with even Republicans privately expressing doubt about the premature victory lap.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the U.S. has “won” or “already won” in its war with Iran. That includes at a rally in Hebron, Kentucky, when he said: “You never like to say too early you won. We won. In the first hour, it was over.”
Democrats and Republicans were split on that messaging, with Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a combat veteran and Army helicopter pilot, aghast at Trump's "cavalier" attitude and apparent surprise that the conflict would spread throughout the Middle East, hurt everyday Americans and send oil prices soaring.
"He's been very cavalier about the whole thing," she told Raw Story on Thursday.
She also unloaded on Pete Hegseth, calling him flatly "incompetent" and "not qualified to do his job," after the Pentagon chief called rules of engagement "stupid."
"Maybe he slept through his officer's basics course when he was there," she said. "Every operational order ends with an end state. What's the end state? They can't decide."
Duckworth expressed bewilderment that the Trump administration failed to coordinate with Spain to use its airfields.
"The fact that Spain denied us the right to use two of their airfields, this should've been coordinated well in advance," she said. "Very cavalier."
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) was equally blistering, accusing Trump and his team of acting "like cowboys lassoing cattle" with no grasp of war's "gravity," calling it a "horrific mess."
"He's given many versions of this, and yet we are at war. We are still bombing. We still don't know if he's going to put troops in to secure Kharg Island or troops to secure nuclear material," Merkley told Raw Story.
He also pointed to the bombing of an Iranian school that killed 150 girls as evidence of catastrophic planning failures, and called the conflict an "illegal and unconstitutional war."
Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas couldn't fully sell the victory narrative.
When asked if the GOP was having "flashbacks" of George W. Bush's famed "Mission Accomplished" boast in Iraq, Cornyn said the U.S. "put a world of hurt" on Iran's nuclear program and "reduced them as a threat." But when pressed specifically on Trump's messaging that the U.S. had won, he deflected.
"I think you need to ask the president," he told Raw Story.
Meanwhile, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) was fully on board with the "we won" framing, calling the military show of force "incredible."
"Seems pretty good to me," he insisted, asserting the country's nuclear program has been destroyed due to the U.S. military's "overwhelming" success.
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) defended Trump's rhetoric, comparing him to a "coach" who says it's "time to put our foot on the throat."
"It sure looks like we're winning right now," he said.