The Daily Wrap Up

2 March, 2029

[Transcripts edited for Clarity, length and flow]

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The Pentagon says more U.S. forces are deploying to the Middle East as the war with Iran escalates. Can we just call it what it is? Donald Trump’s war with Iran.

In Donald’s first public remarks since the strikes began on Saturday, he said the campaign could last four to five weeks and possibly longer. He claimed the United States is systematically destroying Iran’s missile systems, crippling its navy, and preventing any nuclear capability. I thought we had obliterated any nuclear capability? He also refused to rule out ground troops, which should horrify you, saying a much larger wave of strikes is still ahead.

Military officials have called the operation “early stage” and would not say how it might end. They wouldn’t say because they don’t know.

The fighting is already spreading, as of course it would. It’s hard to believe anyone thought we could start bombing another country and they would simply sit back and let it happen. Hezbollah fired rockets from Lebanon into Israel, prompting Israeli strikes near Beirut. Jordan says it shot down two Iranian warplanes entering its airspace. Iran has launched missiles and drones at Gulf nations and Israel. Three U.S. aircraft were downed by Kuwaiti air defenses in what the Pentagon described as an apparent friendly fire incident. Thankfully, the crews were rescued. Still, three fighter jets brought down by our allies. Yes, this is going swimmingly.

Iranian officials report more than 550 dead since the war began. Lebanon says at least 31 people have been killed. At least 10 people have died in Israel and six across the Gulf. Four U.S. service members have been killed so far and at least five seriously wounded. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs has warned that more losses are expected.

Out of the nearly 550 people killed in Iran, over 100 are children. One of those so‑called surgical airstrikes hit an elementary school for girls.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was reportedly killed in the initial joint strike. Donald has offered shifting signals about how this war ends or who governs Iran next. Shifting signals because he doesn’t know or care.

ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl posted that he spoke to Donald, who said the United States had identified possible candidates to take over Iran, but they were killed in the initial attack. According to Karl, Donald said, “The attack was so successful, it knocked out most of the candidates. It’s not going to be anybody that we were thinking of because they’re all dead. Second or third place is dead.”

It is difficult to express my contempt for what is happening and for the person making it happen. The fact that this person initiated it, defied his generals, ignored advisers who told him this was a terrible idea, and made absolutely no plans for how to get out or how to help the Iranian people find a better way to be governed is staggering.

This war is not just unconstitutional. It is also in contravention of international law. Where is the outcry? Where is the uproar?

The President of the United States is commander in chief, but according to the Constitution, in order to wage war he needs congressional approval. He did not get it because he did not ask for it. Why did the military follow his illegal orders? I want that question answered.

The Washington Post reports that Donald ordered Saturday’s sweeping attack after weeks of pressure from two key allies in the region: Israel and Saudi Arabia. The report cites four people familiar with the discussions who say Israeli and U.S. forces ultimately coordinated in the campaign. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is said to have privately called Donald multiple times over the past month urging U.S. military action, even as Donald publicly voiced support for diplomacy.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long pushed publicly for U.S. strikes against Iran, which he considers an existential threat to Israel. All of this comes despite U.S. intelligence assessments that Iran was unlikely to pose a direct threat to the U.S. mainland within the next decade.

This marks a break from decades of American restraint in avoiding full‑scale regime removal in a country of more than 90 million people. Iran is complex and closed off. There was no scenario in which this would not involve extraordinary complications and massive hurdles. Achieving genuine regime change and eradicating Iran’s nuclear weapons program would require threading an impossibly fine needle with competence and foresight. We have neither.

In a prerecorded message on Saturday, Donald told the nation to expect more American casualties. This is what he said:

Earlier today, CENTCOM shared the news that three U.S. military service members have been killed in action. As one nation, we grieve for the true American patriots who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, even as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave their lives. We pray for the full recovery of the wounded and send our immense love and eternal gratitude to the families of the fallen. And sadly, there will likely be more. Before it ends, that’s the way it is.

“That’s the way it is.” Yes, that’s the way it is when you enter a war of choice that will almost certainly end badly.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also addressed the press, saying:

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

He later added:

We didn’t start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it. Their war on Americans has become our retribution against their Ayatollah and his death cult.

And when pressed about how long the operation might last, Hegseth said:

President Trump has all the latitude in the world to talk about how long it may or may not take — four weeks, two weeks, six weeks. It could move up, it could move back. We’re going to execute at his command the objectives we’ve set out to achieve.

All the latitude in the world? No. That is not how this works. That cannot be normalized.

Meanwhile, in a White House ceremony honoring three U.S. Army soldiers with the Medal of Honor, two posthumously, Donald pivoted to something else entirely. Referring to the drapes behind him, he said:

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. I always like gold. It’ll be the most beautiful ballroom anywhere in the world. When I hear that sound behind me, it means money, so I like it.

The United States is at war. American service members are dead. Iranian children are dead. And he is talking about his ballroom.

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that only 27 percent of Americans support the U.S. strikes on Iran. Forty‑three percent disapprove, and 29 percent are unsure. Fifty‑six percent believe Donald is too willing to use military force to advance U.S. interests. Even 23 percent of Republicans share that view.

And a new CNN poll finds that nearly six in ten Americans disapprove of the airstrikes. Fifty‑nine percent say they do not trust Donald to make the right decisions about the use of force in Iran. Sixty percent believe he does not have a clear plan for how to handle this situation.

They are right. He doesn’t.

And the rest of us are left to live with the consequences.

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