Trump claims mystery ex-president backed his war on Iran but no one is owning up

2026.03.17 14:20 US President Donald Trump signs an executive order at the White House on Monday. Photo: EPA Twice on Monday, US President Donald Trump said he had wrangled a confession of sorts from an Oval Office predecessor who he said had expressed regret in a private conversation about not attacking Iran the way Trump has been doing for more than two weeks. But there’s just a little problem: representatives for the four living former presidents – three Democrats and one Republican – said none had been in touch with Trump recently. Trump declined to name the former president when reporters asked who it was, saying he didn’t want to “embarrass him”. The Republican president first told the story during extended remarks about the Iran war as he opened a meeting of the board of trustees of the Kennedy Centre. Trump is chairman of the board and held the meeting at the White House. US President Donald Trump (left) jokes with Vice-President J.D. Vance in the Oval Office at the White House on Monday. Photo: Reuters He repeated that Iran had been a threat to the United States for decades but said he is the only president who had the courage to do something about it. “Look, for 47 years, no president was willing to do what I’m doing, and they should have done it a long time ago,” he said. “It would have been a lot easier. There’s no president that wanted to do it. “And yet every president knew. I’ve spoken to a certain president, who I like, actually, a past president, a former president. He said, ‘I wish I did it, I wish I did,’ but they didn’t do it. I’m doing it,” Trump continued. Asked which former president he had spoken to, Trump said: “I can’t tell you that. I don’t want to embarrass him. It would be very bad for his career, even though he’s got no career.” Representatives for each of former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden said they had not spoken with Trump recently. The individuals spoke on condition of anonymity because they a

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