Senator J.D. Vance, Republican of Ohio speech During the 2024 Republican National Convention (RNC), it was revealed that while former President Donald Trump had previously opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, President Joe Biden did not.
Verdict: Misleading
Although Trump had made various comments about the war in 2003, he did not appear to speak out against the Iraq War until an interview with Esquire magazine in 2004. When asked by Howard Stern in 2002 if he supported the invasion of Iraq, Trump replied, “I think so.”
Fact check:
Trump named Vance as his running mate on Monday, but Vance has reportedly called Biden an “empty vessel” and questioned the state of his health. BBC.
Vance claimed that Trump opposed the invasion of Iraq and Biden supported it. 9:51 CNBC video timestamp.
“When I was a senior in high school, this Joe Biden supported the disastrous invasion of Iraq. Somehow, Donald J. Trump, a real estate developer from New York City, was right on all of these issues and Biden was wrong,” Vance said.
Trump does not appear to have spoken out against the U.S. invasion of Iraq before the invasion. interview With radio host Howard Stern September 11, 2002.
“Yeah, I guess I do,” Trump replied, adding, “I wish it had been done right the first time.”The America we want“If we decide that an attack on Iraq is necessary, it would be insanity not to see that mission through to completion,” he said. (Related: Does J.D. Vance's X-Bio Show Support for Israel?)
It is true that Biden supported it at the time. In 2002, Biden Solution He eventually authorized then-President George W. Bush to launch the invasion. AP NewsAccording to the outlet, Biden falsely claimed during the 2020 presidential campaign that he strongly criticized the invasion at the time and ultimately said the resolution was a mistake.
The Iraq War, which lasted from 2003 to 2011, began its first major phase when the United States invaded Iraq in March 2003. BritannicaIn January 2003, a few months before the invasion, Trump appeared on Fox Business. “Neil Cavuto and Your World” So he said, “Attack or don't attack.”
He also March 2003 The Iraq war was a “mess,” he said in a July 2003 speech. interview He would like to see “New York City receive funds to be sent to Iraq and other places…”
“I've never run. [in 2000] “I'll probably never run, but we're having a lot of fun. I think the president is doing a very good job. I'd like to see New York City and some cities and some states receive some of the funds that are going to Iraq and other places, because they really need it, they desperately need it,” Trump said.
PolitiFact couldn't find him clearly. be against The war continued until 2004. When asked about his comments on Iraq, CNN In 2016, Trump said he “might have been for the war.” In a 2004 interview, Esquire Magazine“Look at the war in Iraq and the mess we're in. I would never have handled it that way,” Trump said.
Check Your Fact has reached out to Vance and a spokesperson for Trump for comment and will update this story accordingly if either source comments.
