The use of the word "war" to describe the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, and Iran's retaliation, has President Donald Trump and his administration at odds with Republican supporters over messaging.
During Late Night on Wednesday, Seth Meyers used his deep dive segment "A Closer Look" to lay out what Trump and former-defense-now-war secretary Pete Hegseth have called it, and what Republicans are calling it, whether it's a "war" or "major combat operation" or otherwise.
"There are two reasons they're all talking in Orwellian circles like this," said Meyers. "One, if they acknowledge it's a war, they also have to admit that it's illegal, since only Congress can declare war. And two, they don't want to admit that Trump lied. He said he would keep us out of exactly these type of open ended wars, and specifically 'forever wars.'"
"What we're seeing play out is the absurdity of life inside the Trump cult," Meyers concluded. "One minute, they all have to pretend Trump is a working class savior who will end foreign wars. The next they have to pretend the war he started isn't a war, even though he's the one calling it a war."
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Topics Late Night With Seth Meyers
