President Donald Trump bombed Iran in a clear violation of the UN charter and US constitution, and while Democrats responded by pointing out the flaws in Trump’s decision-making process, outright and vocal opposition to a new war in the Middle East has been seriously lacking.
But in this ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ interview, House Democrat Joaquin Castro does not hold back, telling Mehdi that Trump and Netanyahu have now given Iran, “an incredible incentive to become like North Korea, that the world feels that it can’t really mess with because they’ve got nuclear weapons.”
Mehdi asks Castro – a member of both the House intelligence and foreign affairs committees – about Trump’s claim that the US’s strikes on Iran nuclear facilities left them “completely and totally obliterated,” despite US intelligence reports saying otherwise.
“I can't discuss the contents of classified briefings. But I can say that based on everything I've seen, my impression is that the president was not honest about his assessment that this is no longer a threat,” Castro tells Mehdi.
Mehdi also presses Castro on why Democrats haven’t held a hearing on Trump’s Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which human rights groups say may be complicit in war crimes after scores of Palestinians have been shot and killed by the Israeli military when trying to receive aid from their sites.
“Before October 7… I made the point that even on a basic level in Congress, you never heard from Palestinian voices, the members of Congress don't hear the other side of the story, so to speak,” Castro says to Mehdi. “That's how you end up with not being able to call out obvious stuff, like the fact that ambulances are getting targeted and hospitals are getting targeted.”
Paid subscribers can watch the full interview to also hear Mehdi and Castro also discuss ICE’s deportation campaign, with Castro telling Mehdi, “there is racial profiling going on right now.”
Free subscribers can watch the first 5-minutes of the interview. Consider becoming a paid subscriber today to watch the full conversation.
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