Chris Wallace Hits ‘Wag the Dog’ Reaction to Trump Ordering Airstrike: Wrong Now, Wrong When Trump Suggested Same of Obama
Fox News’ Chris Wallace today criticized the “wag the dog” comments in response to President Donald Trump ordering the airstrike that took out top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.
The phrase, popularized by the movie of the same name, generally refers to the president taking military action to distract from political problems at home.
As Trace Gallagher noted to Wallace this afternoon, it’s a critique being lobbed at Trump now, but also a critique Trump himself lobbed at his predecessor:
Now that Obama’s poll numbers are in tailspin – watch for him to launch a strike in Libya or Iran. He is desperate.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 9, 2012
Don’t let Obama play the Iran card in order to start a war in order to get elected–be careful Republicans!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 22, 2012
Wallace first noted how if there really was a serious imminent plot, “you have to do it, you have to protect American lives.”
He went on to criticize the “wag the dog” response, saying it was also wrong when Trump himself did it:
“Back in 1998, when Bill Clinton was under impeachment, he launched a strike against al-Qaeda territory in Afghanistan, and there was a movie out at the time called Wag the Dog… so this is something that’s always out there. Frankly, I think it was wrong in the movie, I thought it was wrong about Donald Trump when he was saying it about Obama, I think it’s wrong when people say it now about Donald Trump.”
You can watch above, via Fox News.
