Silence is never deafening, so let’s just say that the lack of Iran commentary from Missouri Sens. Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt this weekend was pretty noticeable.
By Monday morning — more than two days following President Donald Trump’s decision to launch a regime-change war against the Islamic regime in Tehran — neither had issued a public statement on the proceedings.
No posts to X. No posts to Facebook. No press releases.
Which was kind of odd for a couple of reasons. For one, the war is actually being fought from Missouri soil: B-2 bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base flew halfway around the world to drop 2,000-pound bombs on Iran in the war’s opening days.
So the war is definitely a local concern for Hawley and Schmitt.
But also: These guys like to be seen cheerleading for Trump most of the time.
And in this case they were passing up — or, at the very least, delaying — the opportunity.
What gives? Maybe there’s a little bit of embarrassment involved.
Schmitt, after all, loudly praised Trump’s June attack on Iran in terms that, well, no longer apply.
“President Trump was able to obliterate the Iranian nuclear program,” Schmitt wrote in June, “yet didn’t succumb to those in Washington pushing for a forever regime change and a war in the Middle East. He’s putting American interests first and is right — that now it’s time for peace.”
Oops.
Of course, it cannot be the case that Trump both “obliterated” the nuclear program last summer and now uses it to justify a new war on Iran.
And if the president was wise to avoid a regime change war in June, what does that say about his judgment now?
That’s the trick with defending Donald Trump. Sooner or later you’ll get your justifications crosswise.
Schmitt and Hawley will speak up sooner or later. Getting their stories straight might be the trick.
What will Congress do?
