2020 Democrats bash Trump for Iran crisis
While one Democratic presidential candidate calls Trump's Iran policy reckless and another says the only reason there is a crisis is because of Trump, there are questions as to whether the issue will resonate with voters if no war takes place.
In the wake of reversing his decision to strike Iran, US President Donald Trump insisted in a series of media appearances that his foreign policy defied straightforward political labels such as "hawk" or "dove."
While Trump’s allies lauded his prudence for the reversal, some saw an opportunity for 2020 Democratic presidential contenders to use president's last-minute decision to label him as erratic.
“Trump's erratic zig-zagging on decisions of such magnitude creates enormous uncertainty, increasing the risk of miscalculation at a time when the region is on a knife's edge of conflict,” said Colin Kahl, who was national security adviser to Joe Biden when Biden was vice president. Biden, currently the front-runner in Democratic polls, and other candidates for the 2020 Democratic nomination will be sparring on the debate stage for the first time later this week.
Trump levied another round of sanctions on Iran on Monday, taking steps to ramp up the "maximum pressure" campaign that has sought to cut off Tehran’s oil revenues.
