‘I Just Want to Do It’: Trump Was Reportedly ‘High on His Own Supply’ When He Ordered Iran Strikes to ‘Reluctant’ Staffers

 

(Jose Luis Magana/AP photo)

President Donald Trump insisted, “I just want to do it,” to staffers wary of a military strike on Iran, according to a new report that explores a sense of “buyer’s remorse” surrounding the war among the president’s top aides.

In a new report on Monday, Axios reported that those closest to the president may see America’s involvement in the war as a “mistake” a little over two weeks since the U.S. launched Operation Epic Fury on February 28.

As the White House grapples with a recent spike in oil and gas prices after Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, Trump continues to tout the operation as successful, insisting that Iran’s armed forces are “decimated.”

But a senior official told Axios that Trump “grossly overestimated his ability” to force regime change in Iran, and was “high on his own supply” after previous strikes in Iran that he claimed had “obliterated” their nuke facilities and the military operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of its president, Nicolás Maduro.

A source close to the administration said some key officials around Trump were reluctant or wanted more time. “He ended up saying, ‘I just want to do it,'” the source said. “He grossly overestimated his ability to topple the regime short of sending in ground troops.”

Trump downplayed the cost of the war in a phone call with PBS News Hour White House correspondent Liz Landers on Monday, saying, “We’re doing very well.”

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