MS NOW’s Lawrence O’Donnell Roasts Trump Riff on Gold Curtains As War Rages — Then Drops ‘Hitler’ Into The Mix

MS NOW host Lawrence O’Donnell roasted President Donald Trump’s tangent about gold curtains amid his war with Iran — then compared the Trump administration’s rules of engagement with those of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi military.

Trump spoke Monday at a Medal of Honor ceremony, during which he mused about the war with Iran as fighting in the region — in which at least six American servicemembers have been killed  — continued to rage.

But he also went on a lengthy tangent about the curtains in the East Room and the ballroom he’s hoping to complete.

On Monday night’s edition of MS NOW’s The Last Word, O’Donnell ridiculed Trump over that moment — and accused Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth of signaling a Hitlerian campaign when he said “no stupid rules of engagement”:

O’DONNELL: And so, on the third day of his war against Iran, speaking in the majestic East Room of the White House, Donald Trump reminded the world of what is most important to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have a lot of great service members here with us to in this beautiful building. Isn’t it beautiful? We’re adding on to the building a little bit. We’re improving the building.

See that nice drape when that comes down, right now, you see a very, very deep hole. But in about a year and a half from now, you’re going to see a very, very beautiful building. And there’s your entrance to it right there. In fact, it looks so nice. I don’t think I’ll even — I think I’ll save money on the doors because it can’t get more beautiful than that.

I picked those drapes in my first term. I always like gold, but I think we can save a lot of money. I just saved — I just saved curtains. But and it will be — it will be a spectacular, be the most beautiful ballroom. I believe it’s because I built many a ballroom. I believe it’s going to be the most beautiful ballroom anywhere in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O’DONNELL: The only president in history who, in the third day of a war, is talking to the world about drapes that he chose. When Donald Trump illegally launched his war. He said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We may have casualties. That often happens in war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O’DONNELL: And today, Donald Trump’s defense secretary said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: As the president warned, an effort of this scope will include casualties. War is hell and always will be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O’DONNELL: The defense secretary also said today that there are, quote, these are his words — “no stupid rules of engagement.”

And that means the American military under Donald Trump will be operating under the same no rules of engagement used by Adolf Hitler’s forces in World War II against Americans. When Donald Trump was speaking lovingly about drapes this afternoon, the publicly announced death toll of American military personnel and Donald Trump’s war was four. And later today, after Donald Trump was talking about his love of his drapes, that number was raised to six.

And Donald Trump has not said a word about those lost lives since that number moved up to six today. Donald Trump and his secretary of defense have both repeatedly referred to what they are doing in Iran as a war, which neither of them seem to understand, as a way of emphasizing just how unconstitutional and illegal it is.

Watch above via MS NOW’s The Last Word.

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