HOT TOPICS | Donald Trump's (Epstein Distraction) War in Iran Is Killing Americans!
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How did the U.S.–Iran conflict escalate after Trump-ordered strikes?
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the Don Lemon Show. It is bright and early, 10 a.m. Eastern Time. Bright and early here, and wow. I gotta tell you, I hated this morning just waking up to this news. Because I tried to put it out of my head all weekend, but it's very difficult when you think about what's happening that we're possibly at war. Not that we're possibly at war, that we're at war. I went to bed going, okay, this is not, Maybe I'm dreaming. I don't know. I'm sure you guys felt the same way. But anyways, first order of business, hit the like, hit the thumbs up. Thank you for watching from Chicago. Thank you, everybody, for tuning in. Let me know where you're streaming from. This is going to be a serious show because we have serious stuff from an unserious administration.
So like and thumbs up. Thank you for joining. It was a fantastic weekend. Yes, it was my birthday weekend. Yesterday, we will talk about all of that. We went to the Image Awards. We won all of our awards. It was just a fantastic weekend. But we have to deal with reality. Denver, Colorado, Detroit, everyone who's in the house. So are you guys ready for this? Again, like and thumbs up. And let me know how you feel this morning, everyone, as it relates to all this stuff that's going down, because it's really, really, really, really, really important. So I just want to talk to you. this morning because I woke up and the first thing that I did was I, you know, I picked up the phone, I grabbed my phone and I didn't, it wasn't like to check social media.
It wasn't like to check mentions. I just wanted to know one thing. And like, are we really doing this? Are we still doing this? Are we escalating into another conflict with Iran, another Middle East conflict? And the answer looks like yes. And it looks like it's going to last a long time. Now, before anyone jumps in and says, well, calm down, Don. Let's just breathe and then walk through this like grown people sitting at a table. Like we're just talking to each other this morning because I don't know how else to do it. We're being told that this was necessary and we know that's not true. That this was about security and we know it was not about security. That it was about protecting Americans. It's not about that.
But here's what's bothering me about this this morning is that there are reports from congressional briefings that intelligence officials did not present evidence of an imminent Iranian attack on the United States. Not imminent, not something hours away, not something that forced action right this second. And that matters because when we use our military force, imminence is everything. If something is about to happen, That's one conversation. If something is theoretical or long-term, and then that's a very different conversation. We've been in this place for a long time with Iran, and then all of a sudden it's escalated into something with this urgency. So when intelligence briefings suggest that there was no immediate ticking clock, I think it's fair to ask, why now?
Why now? Let's bring in Michael Gold from the New York Times here this morning. Michael, thank you for joining us this morning. We really, really, really appreciate you. And we know that you are very busy right now. He's a congressional reporter for the New York Times. Michael, good morning. And to my point, there was no imminent threat of attack from Iran. So why on earth are we doing this right now?
I think that's the question that everybody has right now, especially on the Hill, where I'll be headed later today. Lawmakers feel like they got no notice. They feel like they have no understanding of what the end game is here, what the goals are, how long this could last or go on. Obviously, I think the Trump administration and the president in particular have long targeted Iran and had major issues with the regime. And we were moving toward this place all last week. But I think there are open questions about why and how long we'll be in this conflict for.
Yeah. And no one has an answer. Did Donald Trump stay at least four weeks?
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
How did the U.S.–Iran conflict escalate after Trump-ordered strikes?
0:16–11:24
2
What evidence did congressional briefings give about an imminent Iranian threat?
11:24–15:54
3
Why are lawmakers and reporters asking 'Why now?' about the timing of the strikes?
15:54–26:50
4
Could the strikes signal a goal of regime change in Iran and what would that mean?
26:50–1:07:02
Speakers
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