Lawrence O’Donnell Torches Trump Over Iran War Claim: ‘Only An Imbecile Could Think That’
MS NOW host Lawrence O’Donnell on Tuesday skewered President Donald Trump over his self-proclaimed victory in announcing a memorandum of understanding to end his war in Iran, noting that the MAGA leader’s description of the tentative deal sounds curiously familiar.
O’Donnell played a clip of Trump telling a reporter Tuesday at the G7 summit that he isn’t releasing the text of the memorandum ahead of Friday’s ceremonial signing, but that the document is “great,” adding: “Here’s what it says: Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.”
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“Only an imbecile could think that that would be some kind of breakthrough in 2026, to have a written agreement that says Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” said O’Donnell after playing footage of the exchange during his monologue Tuesday on “The Last Word.”
The MS NOW host teased, “Eleven years ago, Iran put this in writing in the publicly released, 18-page, written agreement negotiated by [then] Secretary of State John Kerry and agreed to by the United States and five other countries.”
The passage stated, “Iran reaffirms that under no circumstances will Iran ever seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons.” Trump exited the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action ( or JCPOA), secured in 2015 under then-President Barack Obama, during his first term.
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“So Donald Trump’s big claim today after going to war with Iran is that his war has convinced Iran to put in writing exactly what Iran put in writing 11 years ago without a war,” said O’Donnell. “Yes, Donald Trump thinks you’re imbeciles if you believe that.”
The “Last Word” host continued, “Donald Trump is approaching his so-called deal with Iran the only way he knows how, which is to lie about it nonstop. That is what Donald Trump wants Congress to do.”
He explained that MS NOW has obtained a copy of “talking points” the White House sent to congressional Republicans, and that the first one falsely states, “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. President Trump drew that line and enforced it when no other President would.”
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O’Donnell went on to play another clip of Trump calling Obama’s deal “a road to a nuclear weapon,” when it was an agreement from Iran not to develop one, and claiming they “were allowed” to under Obama, whose deal was actually a vow from Iran to do the exact opposite.
O’Donnell claimed this is why Trump does not want to make the memorandum public.
He concluded, “That’s the lie that Donald Trump must keep telling to try to desperately justify his war in Iran, which most Americans opposed, and his deal with Iran — that is so embarrassing, he can’t let the wording of it become public.”
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