Sen. Ted Cruz trashed Ben Rhodes for condemning President Trump’s decision to order the strike that killed Iranian leader Qassim Soleimani.
Soleimani, an Iranian military leader responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American soldiers, was killed on Thursday as the latest counterstrike against Iran following the death of an American contractor and an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq by Iranian-backed militants.
Late Thursday night, Rhodes, who served as President Barack Obama’s speechwriter, criticized Trump for making the decision to kill Soleimani. He tweeted, “Trump may have just started a war with no congressional debate. I really hope the worst case scenario doesn’t happen but everything about this situation suggests serious escalation to come.”
Trump may have just started a war with no congressional debate. I really hope the worst case scenario doesn’t happen but everything about this situation suggests serious escalation to come.
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) January 3, 2020
In response to Rhodes’ tweet, Cruz ripped the Obama administration’s decision to send pallets of cash totaling $1.7 billion to Iran as part of the nuclear deal in 2015. The Texas Republican tweeted, “Perhaps it would have been a better idea to send him $1.7 billion in unmarked bills, in pallets on planes in the dead of night, so he could kill more Americans?”
Perhaps it would have been a better idea to send him $1.7 billion in unmarked bills, in pallets on planes in the dead of night, so he could kill more Americans? https://t.co/t5Mj2SMyq5
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 3, 2020
It is not yet clear how Soleimani’s death will play out in Iran, but the move was lauded by many Republicans in the U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, a Florida Republican and retired Green Beret officer, called Trump’s decision “absolutely the right move and long overdue.”
Rhodes has been a steady critic of Trump. He was filmed during an HBO series sobbing on the night Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016 and has maintained that level of disbelief since he took office.
