Donald Trump is facing what could be the biggest test of his presidency to date.
Despite campaigning as an anti-war president, he’s allowed Israel to break a ceasefire in Gaza, he’s bombed the Houthis in Yemen, and he ordered strikes on Iran’s legal nuclear facilities in violation of both the US Constitution and UN Charter – all within the first six months of his second term.
This has led a wave of prominent right-wing figures like Tucker Carlson and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to criticize Trump and cast doubt on his foreign policy for not being ‘America First’. One of those figures is Dave Smith, libertarian comedian, podcaster, and political commentator, who voted for Trump in 2024 but is now calling for his impeachment.
“I just feel like he’s making the worst possible decision right now. I’m gonna criticize him in the harshest possible language and try to send as much of a message as I can that even people who did support Donald Trump will turn on him over this,” he tells Mehdi.
Smith argues that the threat of Iran having a nuclear weapon was “all made up,” and says, “It’d probably be several years before they could have a deliverable nuclear weapon. In other words, Donald Trump has all the time in the world to take this to Congress and let the American system, which is supposed to be the people get to decide through their representatives whether or not we declare a war. There was no imminent threat here.”
And while Trump negotiated a ceasefire deal between Israel and Iran, Smith remains critical: “This is what he does all the time. He walks you up to the cliff and then walks back and then wants credit for walking back from the cliff.”
Smith, who is Jewish, also discussed the genocide in Gaza, saying Israel is “inflicting the worst level of human suffering on children by choice,” and that it is “so clearly against our national interests.”
Paid subscribers can watch the full discussion above, in which Mehdi also asks Smith if he has any regrets for voting for Trump, while Smith also unloads on Ted Cruz.
Free subscribers can watch an 3-minute preview of the conversation. Consider upgrading to paid to watch the full interview.
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