With Israel having launched a preemptive attack against Iran and its nuclear program almost a week ago now, there are Democrats out there somehow blaming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), as we covered at the time last week, has certainly gone with that narrative. Joel Rubin, who worked for the State Department under the Obama administration, did not take well to being reminded we're in such a position thanks to his former boss.
Rubin, during a panel discussion on CNN's "The Arena with Kasie Hunt," didn't merely go after Trump over what's currently going on with Israel and Iran, but expressed he does "worry" about how "the Democratic Party and the base got very excited" about Trump being a candidate who "would bring peace when to Ukraine, to Gaza, and get a nuclear deal." This second Trump administration is certainly a needed breath of fresh air after the foreign policy disasters that took place under the Biden-Harris administration, from the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal, to Russia then being empowered to invade Ukraine, and Hamas and Iran attacking Israel.
"They were hoodwinked, all of of these issues, all of these conflicts have gotten worse on his watch," Rubin claimed about Trump. "He is actually the one who got us onto this path by getting out of the Iran nuclear deal that President Obama negotiated a decade ago and so now I think you're seeing a lot of the reaction based on that."
Former Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI), who was also on the panel, quickly jumped in to emphasize that he "couldn't disagree with that anymore," reminding how "we gave [Iran] a stockpile of money." He also reminded that this is "the reason they're able to support the attacks that we saw a year-and-a-half ago on Israel because Hamas is supported by Iran," when it comes to Hamas' October 7, 2023 attacks.
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Gesturing for emphasis, Walker further stressed that "we gave them the money under the Obama administration," and told Rubin that he was "flat-out wrong" as Rubin laughably claimed that "that has nothing to do with the nuclear program, though."
During the brief cross-talk, Walker continued to emphasize how Rubin was "totally wrong," which he continued to deny, as the former governor pointed out it's not just Hamas. "We empowered Hezbollah, we empowered the Houthis, if anyone is to blame it's the Obama administration for giving them that money," Walker made clear. "We should have never been involved in that," Walker continued, which prompted Rubin to bring up the International Atomic Energy Agency, a group which Walker also pointed out was "fundamentally wrong," and that "we gave them the money that funded the terrorist attacks we've seen in the last year-and-a-half.
🔥WHOA: Democrat panelist on CNN says that President Trump is responsible for inflamed tensions between Iran & Israel... & @ScottWalker was NOT having it!
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 18, 2025
"We gave them a stockpile of money! The reason they were able to support the attacks that we saw...because of Hamas!… pic.twitter.com/gDQBLrFnvR
It's also worth reminding that the Biden-Harris administration further threw money at Iran and emboldened such attacks, including with waivers. Such an administration also did not take the Houthis seriously enough, which did not happen until Trump was once more in office. Iran has not only been emboldened with more funds, but allowed to lie and mislead.
Trump has been losing his patience with Iran, and promised at the start of his term that the dictatorial regime--which may not even be in control for much longer--had 60 days to make a deal. Even before Israel launched "Operation Rising Lion," as it is known, Trump has been clear, including when he first ran for president 10 years ago this week, that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, with Vice President JD Vance also reminding people of that critical point.
Look, I'm seeing this from the inside, and am admittedly biased towards our president (and my friend), but there's a lot of crazy stuff on social media, so I wanted to address some things directly on the Iran issue:
— JD Vance (@JDVance) June 17, 2025
First, POTUS has been amazingly consistent, over 10 years, that…
While Democrats like Rubin and Murphy speak about Iran in such a way, others more familiar with the regime have issued a key reminder and warning.
"The reason diplomacy has failed is because Iran's regime will no sooner give up trying to acquire nukes to destroy Israel than you would give up loving your children. It is very hard for western minds to fathom such dedication to such evil. But it remains an unassailable fact," he shared, as he encouraged people to watch Ayatollah Khamenei's speeches, read the media in Iran, and study their texts," David Keyes, the former spokesperson to Netanyahu, stressed last Thursday when the attack began.
Destroying Iran's nuclear facilities will save millions of lives. pic.twitter.com/u6ITPtcvYd
— David Keyes (@DavidMKeyes) June 13, 2025
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