President Trump had a simple message Thursday night following the successful U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian terrorist Qassem Soleimani. After the military victory, he posted a photo of the American flag on Twitter.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2020
He got into more detail on Friday afternoon.
Pres. Trump on Soleimani killing: His reign of terror is over https://t.co/fPpCEIWYZH pic.twitter.com/HmzxjuCJVm
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 3, 2020
"We take comfort in knowing that his reign of terror is over," Trump said at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. "Soleimani has been perpetrating acts of terror to destabilize the Middle East for the last 20 years. What the United States did yesterday should have been done long ago."
Plenty of Americans celebrated the military's victory Thursday. After all, Soleimani was behind several of the recent attacks on coalition bases in Iraq and the attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. But some Democratic leaders are more concerned that Soleimani's death could have dangerous consequences and that Trump may have just taken the next step toward war with Iran. Both Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi informed Trump that he does not have the authority to act without their input.
The Trump Admin has conducted strikes in Iraq targeting high-level Iranian military officials and killing Iranian Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani without an AUMF against Iran. Further, this action was taken without the consultation of the Congress.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 3, 2020
"The president does not have authority for a war with Iran," Schumer said on the Senate floor.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) questioned the president's decision making too.
"The question is this - as reports suggest, did America just assassinate, without any congressional authorization, the second most powerful person in Iran, knowingly setting off a potential massive regional war?" Murphy wondered on Twitter.
Again, Trump's answer was simple: "We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war."