Democrats and Celebrities Slam Trump, Seem To Side With Iran

Axios had a great summary of all the Democrat comments:

Democrats, including top 2020 presidential candidates, have condemned the process behind and possible repercussions of the U.S. airstrike in Iraq that killed Iran's top general, Qasem Soleimani.

The state of play: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement that the Iraq strike "was taken without the consultation of the Congress" and "risks provoking further dangerous escalation of violence."

• "The full Congress must be immediately briefed on this serious situation and on the next steps under consideration by the Administration, including the significant escalation of the deployment of additional troops to the region."

What they're saying:

• Former Vice President Joe Biden said President Trump "tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox" with the targeted killing of Iran's top general, and said it could leave the U.S. "on the brink of a major conflict across the Middle East," AP reports.
• Bernie Sanders: "Trump's dangerous escalation brings us closer to another disastrous war in the Middle East that could cost countless lives and trillions more dollars."
• Elizabeth Warren called Soleimani "a murderer, responsible for the deaths of thousands, including hundreds of Americans." But she said Trump's "reckless move escalates the situation with Iran and increases the likelihood of more deaths and new Middle East conflict."
• Andrew Yang tweeted: "War with Iran is the last thing we need and is not the will of the American people. We should be acting to deescalate tensions and protect our people in the region."
• Michael Bloomberg said in a statement that he hopes Trump "has carefully thought through the national security implications of this attack for our country," adding that the administration should now work to "de-escalate this crisis in order to prevent wider conflicts and protect American lives."
• Amy Klobuchar said in a statement that Trump should have consulted Congress and the "timing, manner, and potential consequences of the administration’s actions raise serious questions and concerns about an escalating conflict."
• Cory Booker told MSNBC that "we also have to look at the larger strategic situation in that area. We have a president who has had really a failure in his Iranian policy, who had no larger strategic plan and has made that region less stable and less safe."
• Michael Bennet told WGBH’s Morning Edition that the act was "terribly reckless and provocative" adding, "I think you couldn’t be more naive to believe that this was going to result somehow in Iran coming to the negotiating table, rather than creating the potential for another war — which is the last thing we need in the Middle East."
• Pete Buttigieg acknowledged Suleimani as a national security threat: "But there are serious questions about how this decision was made and whether we are prepared for the consequences." He added: "The lawful, constitutional role of Congress in matters of war and peace must be respected." 
• Deval Patrick said in a statement that "a difficult situation is becoming more dangerous because of a lack of leadership [...] Our priorities must now be de-escalation, protecting our country and our allies, the American people, and innocents everywhere[.]"

From NBC:

When President Donald Trump ordered the killingof Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, he put his 2020 Democratic rivals in a tough political bind.

Democrats are worried that Trump is touching off yet another war in the Middle East, and at the same time, wary of failing to condemn the assassination of a figure who was roundly viewed in the United States as one of the world's leading bad guys.

So, faced with the choice of condemning the move or condoning it, most chose in the hours immediately following the news to do a little bit of both. The lone exception among the top four contenders: Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the No. 2-running hopeful, who ripped Trump for the decision.

The rest responded with the kind of "yes, but" framing that is inherently less decisive than the message Trump delivered to Iran and to the American voting public on the wings of a drone-fired missile. That group included front-running former Vice President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

"He has blood on his hands from countless operations against American interests, American allies, and American citizens," Buttigieg said of Soleimani on Friday morning, adding that the move "must not be the beginning of another endless war."

The challenge for them is the liberal wing of the party has no interest in endorsing anything Trump does — much less a military strike that could lead to broader hostilities — but swing voters who will be crucial targets in a general election may be persuaded by the idea that killing a top militant is a good thing.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., nearly echoing Biden's own words from eight years ago, put it this way Friday: "This morning, Iran's master terrorist is dead."

No one is more familiar with the political value of a simple dead-enemy political tagline than Biden, who rallied the 2012 Democratic National Convention with the words "Bin Laden is dead, and General Motors is alive." And yet, before diving into a long discourse on his concerns about the repercussions of Trump's decision Friday, Biden spent several sentences explaining why Soleimani "deserved to be brought to justice."

"This is and was an enormous escalation," Biden said. "And it follows a string of dubious actions that President Trump has taken that have drastically increased the prospects and the risk of war with Iran and danger to Americans."