Ex-Clinton official applauds Trump’s 'courageous' Iran call, doubts Harris would've had the nerve

A former Clinton-era National Defense Council staffer broke with his party and heaped praise on President Donald Trump's prosperous strikes on Iran over the weekend while remarking former Vice President Kamala Harris would have likely lacked the courage to execute such a mission if she were commander-in-chief I am not a fan of multiple of Donald Trump s actions but I will speak openly and honestly when he takes bold approaches defending America s interests as he did tonight Jamie Metzl founder of the international social group One Shared World posted to X on Saturday evening Metzl served on former President Bill Clinton's National Safeguard Counci and was former President Joe Biden's deputy staff director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and he heaped praise on Trump repeatedly on X over the weekend while also taking a shot at Harris' lack of courage and fortitude But I m not a blind tribalist and am perfectly assured praising President Trump for bold and courageous actions in advocacy of America s core national interests as he took last night Metzl posted to X on Sunday morning Although I believe electing Kamala Harris would have been better for our democracy society and economic system as well as for helping the preponderance vulnerable people in the United States and around the world I also believe VP Harris would not have had the courage or fortitude to take such an essential step as the president took last night he added PROMINENT TRUMP CRITICS LAUD PRESIDENT'S DECISION TO STRIKE IRAN NUCLEAR SITESMetzl continued in his X messages that Iran has been at war with the United States for years and was aiming to build a nuclear weapon with the intention of wielding it over the U S and its allies TRUMP DECLARES 'VERY PROSPEROUS ATTACK' ON IRAN'S NUCLEAR EFFORT AS US FORCES STRIKE KEY SITES Iran has been at war with the United States for years Its regime has murdered thousands of American citizens Its slogan death to America was not window dressing but core ideology It was racing toward a nuclear weapon with every intention of using it to threaten America our allies and the Middle East region as a whole No actions like this come without risks and I imagine the story will get more complicated over time but that s why these types of decisions are complicated he wrote Fox News Digital reached out to Harris' office regarding Metzl's post but did not instantly receive a reply Metzl's comments are among a cacophony of Democratic elected representatives and traditional anti-MAGA voices who have come out to praise Trump since the effective attack on Iran dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer TRUMP ADDRESSES NATION ON 'SPECTACULAR MILITARY SUCCESS' OF US STRIKES ON IRANIAN NUCLEAR FACILITIES The destruction of Iran s nuclear campaign is essential to ultimate peace in the Middle East This is not a Democratic or Republican issue dealing with the Iranian threat is central to America s national protection The world is safer because of the actions of our brave arrangement members I m praying for the safety of our organization members in the region New Jersey Democratic Rep Josh Gottheimer reported in a report over the weekend for example As I ve long maintained this was the correct move by POTUS Democratic Pennsylvania Sen John Fetterman wrote on X on Saturday Iran is the world s leading sponsor of terrorism and cannot have nuclear capabilities I m grateful for and salute the finest military in the world While New York Times columnist Bret Stephens a frequent Trump critic wrote in an opinion piece that Trump made a courageous and correct decision that deserves respect no matter how one feels about this president while fellow Times columnist David French also declared it was the right decision on social media Other Democrats and frequent Trump critics such as New York Democratic Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Republican Kentucky Rep Thomas Massie have slammed Trump over the strikes arguing they bypassed Congress FETTERMAN BACKS TRUMP AFTER IRAN STRIKES 'THE CORRECT MOVE'Trump reported the Saturday evening strikes on Iran in a Truth Social post that was not preceded by media leaks or speculation that strikes were imminent The unexpected social media post was followed just hours later by a brief Trump address to the nation while flanked by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance A short time ago the U S military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime Fordow Natanz and Isfahan Trump announced from the White House late on Saturday in an address to the nation regarding the strikes Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise Our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment quota and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's No state sponsor of terror Tonight I can overview to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success The strikes obliterated Iranian nuclear facilities and backed the nation into a corner to make a peace deal Trump disclosed This mission was also celebrated by Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Dan Caine as one that was cloaked in secrecy and intentionally deceptive to confuse the enemy It involved misdirection and the highest of operational protection Our B- s went in and out of these nuclear sites in and out and back without the world knowing at all Hegseth declared In that way it was historic The operation included the longest B- spirit bomber mission since the second-longest B- mission ever flown and the largest B- operational strike in U S history Hegseth and Caine revealed during the Sunday press conference Operation Midnight Hammer followed Israel launching preemptive strikes on Iran on June after months of attempted and stalled nuclear negotiations and subsequent heightened concern that Iran was advancing its nuclear effort Netanyahu declared soon afterward that the strikes were necessary to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival Fox News Digital's Hannah Panreck contributed to this statement