Donald Trump Iraq War Libya Twitter Reaction NBC Forum

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The internet is calling out Donald Trump for a comment he made during MSNBC's Commander-In-Chief Forum. The Republican nominee told moderator Matt Lauer that he never supported the Iraq War, criticized it before it happened, and opposed the war in an Esquire interview in 2004. Politifact, a bipartisan watchdog organization that fact-checks political statements, pointed out the lie immediately. Lauer let the statement slide without pushing back on air, sparking even more outrage online.

.@realdonaldtrump says (again) he opp'd Iraq War before it started. We can’t find evidence https://t.co/eeCwMjR0yq pic.twitter.com/JDh4Bux3D1
— PolitiFact (@PolitiFact) September 8, 2016

In 2002, Trump spoke with Howard Stern and came out in favor of the conflict. Stern asked Trump if he was for invading Iraq. “Yeah, I guess so,” Trump said. “I wish the first time it was done correctly.”

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In 2002, Donald Trump said he supported invading Iraq https://t.co/B3071OFSQy https://t.co/On1ZfL88eC
— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) February 19, 2016

Neil Cavuto asked Trump about the war in 2003, but he declined to oppose it and instead discussed how the secrecy could have been handled better. Trump is correct that he opposed the war in his 2004 Esquire interview, which occurred a year-and-a-half after the war began. The Washington Post offers an excellent timeline of Trump's commentary about the war. The reaction to Trump's comments — and moderator Lauer's failure to call him out on the statement — was speedy and unforgiving.

YOU CAN'T JUST LET HIM LIE ABOUT THAT
— Katherine Miller (@katherinemiller) September 8, 2016

Good job, Matt Lauer ... letting Trump get away with lying about his position about the war in Iraq. Well done, indeed.
— Jackie Kucinich (@JFKucinich) September 8, 2016

Trump: “I was totally against the war in Iraq. You can look at Esquire magazine in 04.” EXCEPT THE WAR STARTED IN 2003
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) September 8, 2016

Again, There is no record of Trump being against the war in Iraq before the invasion. circa 2003
— Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) September 8, 2016

Trump, lie number 1: claims he didn't support the Iraq war. He did.
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) September 8, 2016

Trump is lying about what he said on Iraq and Lauer just lets it go by. Lauer did four follow ups on email.
— Jon Lovett (@jonlovett) September 8, 2016

Trump lying and saying he was totally against the war in Iraq
— Gideon Resnick (@GideonResnick) September 8, 2016

Trump: "I was totally against the war in Iraq." No, no, he wasn't. Not beforehand.
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) September 8, 2016

Donald Trump also claimed he opposed a Libya intervention. That claim is false as well. Here he is, on video, in support of intervention.

"She made a mistake on Libya. She made a terrible mistake on Libya," Trump says of the action he supported at the time.
— andrew kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) September 8, 2016