Scarborough defends Trump's decision to strike Iran, suggests other presidents would have done the same

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough defended President Donald Trump connected Monday implicit his determination to strike Iran's atomic program, suggesting different presidents mightiness person made the aforesaid choice.

"I said connected Thursday oregon Friday, the president had nary bully options. What would Monday look similar if helium hadn’t person moved? If Iran wasn’t already astatine 60% and an quality to make atomic weapons successful a abbreviated substance of time, right?" Scarborough began. "I find it hard to judge that Bush 41, Bush 43, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, you know, spell down the list, immoderate presidents, wouldn’t person felt compelled to instrumentality that strike."

Scarborough, a erstwhile GOP congressman and longtime professional of the president, asked Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, astir Trump's determination during "Morning Joe."

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Joe Scarborough suggested connected Monday that different presidents would person besides made the determination to onslaught Iran's atomic sites, arsenic Trump did. (Left:Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for Global Citizen, Right: Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

"I’m not championing either broadside of this. Although I inquire you, David, however hard would it person been for immoderate president to not instrumentality that changeable if they knew that Iran was adjacent being attacked by the United Nations?"

Ignatius said that past presidents person besides considered this scenario. 

"Three erstwhile presidents person considered precisely this scenario. They’re the ones who developed the weapons and the conflict plan. This was thing inherited by President Trump. And each of them pulled backmost due to the fact that of the uncertainties associated with the action. They decided it conscionable wasn’t worthy doing," helium said. 

"If President Trump decided past Friday, determination is nary accidental that the negotiated colony that I privation to resoluteness this is going to work, the Iranians are jamming me, they’re conscionable pushing maine along, they’re stonewalling, is the connection that J.D. Vance used. He, successful a sense, did person nary prime but to determination it connected to a antithetic terrain," Ignatius said. 

He warned that the U.S. conscionable doesn't cognize what mightiness travel of the move.

"The occupation is connected that antithetic terrain. We conscionable don’t cognize what’s ahead. But I instrumentality your point, right. It’s his choices were debased astatine the infinitesimal helium had to marque the decision," Ignatius said. 

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President Donald Trump connected June 15, 2025 (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Scarborough noted that past presidents didn't person Iran successful a degraded and "cornered" position.  

He said Iran was "even getting condemned by the United Nations for however rapidly they were moving towards processing a atomic weapon."

MSNBC contributor Katty Kay agreed with Scarborough and said Iran had been weakened implicit the past year, putting Trump successful a unsocial position.

"You look astatine the concern with Hezbollah being degraded, the concern with Syria and Assad falling, Hamas being degraded successful Gaza, each astir the region, Iran has suffered blows implicit the past year, not conscionable the past week, and truthful gave Donald Trump a antithetic acceptable of circumstances successful than those 3 erstwhile presidents person faced," she said.

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US Vice President JD Vance, from left, US President Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, US caput of state, and Pete Hegseth, US caput of defense, during an code to the federation successful the East Room of the White House successful Washington, DC, US, connected Saturday, June 21, 2025.  (Carlos Barria/Reuters/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump earned praise from different salient critics arsenic well, including erstwhile National Security advisor John Bolton, who said connected Sunday, "President Trump made the close determination for America."

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"It was a decisive action. It was the close happening to do. I thought idiosyncratic should bash it for a agelong time. But amended precocious than never," Bolton told CNN's Kasie Hunt.