Transcript for:
Trump's War Record: Myths vs. Reality

I keep meeting people in left-wing circles in Muslim circles in Arab American circles who tell me that they're voting for Donald Trump because he isn't a hawk he didn't start any new Wars he killed fewer Muslims than democratic presidents do this argument is doing my head in because it just isn't true it's total nonsense so when it comes to Trump and War and killing Muslims in particular it's time for a debunking number one he didn't start any new Wars they say well it's not like he didn't try we just got lucky in his first year in office he picked a fight with nuclear armed North Korea he called Kim Jong-un Little Rocket Man called him short and fat and threatened him with fire and fury Trump's own Homeland Security officials were so [ __ ] scared that he'd start a major war with North Korea that they had multiple meetings to prepare for a nuclear attack a North Korean nuclear strike on American soil in his last year in office Trump illegally assassinated Iran's top General suani via a drone strike and the only reason we didn't have a full-on war with Iran is because the Iranians chose to show restraint and not respond in kind had Iran say assassinated General Mark Millie America's top General at that time we would have been instantly in World War III as a result of Trump's actions let's be clear about that in fact Millie says Trump wanted to attack Iran after he lost the 2020 election Trump also reportedly wanted to attack Venezuela and now for his second term he's considering air strikes on Mexican soil how's that for a new war not far away in the Middle East but on our own Southern border by the way this very specific and annoying claim that he was the first president to start no new war that's just not true former president and Nobel Peace laurat Jimmy Carter would like a word and look this whole not starting new Wars thing is a distraction from the fact that Trump expanded and escalated pretty much every war that he inherited from Barack Obama remember Obama famously didn't bomb the Assad government in Syria but Trump did in 2017 and again in 2018 Obama didn't drop the single biggest bomb on Afghanistan the mother of all bombs the Moab but Trump did in fact the number of Afghan civilians killed by air strikes on Trump's watch went up 330% and as writer Ben Krauss points out quote there were more civilian deaths from air strikes in Somalia under Trump than under Bush and Obama combined Trump also oversaw a 200% increase in air strike deaths in Iraq and Syria number two well at least he wasn't a drone president they say like Obama was look Obama was indeed a drone president who killed a lot of innocent people with drone strikes but you know who was a bigger drone president Donald Trump yeah you just haven't heard about it because much of our media is a joke and because both Muslims and the left for some reason have given Trump a pass on this issue here are the facts that you need to know Donald Trump did more drone strikes in his first two years in office than Barack Obama carried out over eight years in office in fact Trump didn't just do more drone strikes he loosened all restrictions on drone strikes making it even easier to kill innocent civilians and it was Joe Biden for all his sins on Gaza who came along and almost ended the Drone War without much fanfare and without much credit number three well at least Trump didn't do a genocide like Biden did in Gaza yes he did yes he did in Yemen how have we just forgotten the Yemen genocide with tens of thousands of death thousands of kids killed and a man-made famine it started on Obama's watch yes but in 2018 it was President Trump who oversaw the Yemen War's deadliest and most violent year up until that point it was Trump who was in charge when a us-made bomb was dropped on a school bus full of Yemen kids and it was Trump like Biden with Israel who bypassed Congress to get weapons and bombs to his pal MBS in Saudi Arabia which were then used to kill even more innocent yemenese on mass So when you say Trump didn't do a genocide didn't Mass kill Muslims you're erasing the people of Yemen and you should really be ashamed of yourself to be clear Trump did try and start new Wars expanded old Wars increased drone strikes and helped do a genocide in the Middle East he also supported the invasion of Iraq wanted America to steal Iraq oil and pardoned and praised American soldiers convicted of war crimes in Iraq he's the president who ramped up the defense budget and surrounded himself with neocon Hawks like Mike Pompeo Mike Pence Nikki Haley and John bloody Bolton and he's the presidential candidate now who is surrounding himself again with Hawks China Hawks who would love nothing more than a new American war with the nuclear armed People's Republic so Donald the dove no that's ridiculous it's perhaps the biggest most annoying and most demonstrable lie in American politics right now don't fall for it