All 4 living former presidents deny Trump's bizarre Iran bombing claim

[riversedge]

Source: raw story


Robert Davis March 16, 2026 7:11PM ET


Aides to all four living presidents confirmed to CNN on Monday that none of them have spoken with President Donald Trump about his bombing strikes in Iran, as Trump claimed during a press conference.

Trump claimed in the Oval Office that he had spoken to a former president about bombing Iran, and that the former president had approved of the operation. Trump added that the former president claimed he "wished" he had made the decision to bomb Iran. The president also declined to identify which president he was talking about.

................

"A spokesman for Clinton told CNN that no recent conversations have taken place between Clinton and Trump — about Iran or anything else," they reported.

"Aides to Bush, Obama and Biden offered similar sentiments on Monday, saying there is no record of any communications with Trump," the report added. .....................







Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/trump-iran-2676245068/

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Maybe he had a deep conversation with Andrew Jackson or James Monroe?

— Anders Puck Nielsen (@anderspucknielsen.dk) 2026-03-17T10:24:48.116Z

Link to tweet

?s=20

[livetohike]

1. When is it going to be enough for the people

who have the power to put an end to this? He’s delusional. No grasp on reality to figure out that people can and will check on his claims.

[Trueblue Texan]

4. I understand the frustration, but my question to you...

...is what do you propose be done about it? All the choices are about as useful as the choice to bomb Iran. Once TSF is out, we get an equally evil and far more competent and functional person to execute the rest of the agenda to destroy the US. It's like jumping from the frying pan to the fire.

[NJCher]

6. Do you think

Vance would have declared war or even an “excursion” into Iran?

In regard to the rest of their evil agenda, please take into consideration the closeness in the House now.

[PJMcK]

15. IF trump were gone...

... Vance would be a place-holder, much like Ford. There wouldn't be any wild policies because Vance would not have the power over Congress that Trump seems to have.

Boring but mildly stable.

[Trueblue Texan]

26. If he was instructed to do so...

I believe he absolutely would.

[MadameButterfly]

41. Vance is a tool of Thiel and Project 2025 but even so

if the military warned him about the Straights of Hormuz he'd be able to process what that means. He doesn't have the mental illness Trump has that makes aggression involuntary.

It's also possible that the cult ends with Trump, and Vance won't have a following that will let him do just anything.
Unless the Russians or people behind Qanon can just create another cult leader.

[livetohike]

16. The 25th Amendment would unseat him if anyone had the guts

to initiate this. It needs to be done now. So Vance holds the position until 2028 elections. I think he may be smart enough to realize his chances in 2028 will be greatly diminished if he tries to replicate The Felon’s craziness.

[lastlib]

24. If they unseat him, they will lose their power.

That's a price they're not willing to pay. They can't give up their wet dream of screwing over the working class.

Here's another factor: The Constitution basically limits a person to serving ten years in the Presidency--the Vice-President serving the last two years of a pevious president's term, plus two terms of his own. If tRump is removed before the mid-terms, then Vance could only serve one term as president thereafter. I don't think he would give up the possibility of serving two terms, so he won't do anything for another year.

[livetohike]

37. Good points.n/t

[travelingthrulife]

42. Republicans could end this nightmare today if they chose to.

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

19. No one, except Trump...

can get away with propagandizing an issue for weeks and then when the press asks him about it his answer is ALWAYS, "I don't know anything about it." The press has been cowed and is incapable of challenging him. I don't think anyone else would be able to get away with that so, yes, I believe it would improve things and allow congress to claw back control.

[travelingthrulife]

43. All afraid of an old dying man. Pathetic.

[Keepthesoulalive]

51. The press isn't cowed

They are complicit. All we heard about before the elections that Biden was mentally impaired but now they sit and nod in agreement like the trained amoebas they are. They helped lead us to this disaster. Let’s not expect them to be responsible journalists.

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

52. Yes, there's a better term than I chose. Collaborators.

[TBF]

60. I'm going to turn that question back on you -

what happens if Donald dies? It can happen to anyone. "What do you propose to be done about it?"

We get a somewhat more competent person, but he doesn't have nearly the charisma or following that Trump does. Lame duck until the next election.

I could live with that.

[Mysterian]

48. As soon as brainwashed idiots stop voting republican

Not a day sooner.

[Onthefly]

2. He spoke to Lincoln. "You know the guy. He has a nice car."

Why isn’t the press sounding the alarm?

[EYESORE 9001]

3. Perhaps he was referring to himself, being an ex-president & all

All the voices in his head are in one accord.

[LymphocyteLover]

9. that's my theory... he is barking mad

[2naSalit]

32. That's it!

He got roasted the last time he admitted that he only listens to his 'beautiful mind" so he's not tellin' anymore.

[HighFired49]

61. Exactly

Number 47 talked to #45. What idiots! and

[QueerDuck]

5. Trump will say that they're lying... or that "the president he spoke with is simply respecting the privacy...

...and confidential nature of the discussion by denying or not confirming the conversation took place."

🤢🤮

[eppur_se_muova]

7. Perhaps Canada's President Poutine called him up again ... that guy shows up when he knows he's most needed. nt

Last edited Tue Mar 17, 2026, 10:44 AM - Edit history (1)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/22-minutes-star-pulls-prank-on-george-w-bush-1.212339

(But he was referred to as PM, I thought the caller went further and called him the "Canadian President".)

[sop]

13. Trump didn't say he spoke to a former U.S. president, he could have consulted with any former president.

The former president of Trump University? The Trump Fan Club?

[eppur_se_muova]

23. Tommy Flanagan, the President of the Pathological Liars Club ?

[oasis]

8. Trump being full of shit, as usual.

[Ray Bruns]

10. This is because he thinks the voices in his head are real.

[Javaman]

11. I think the orange pedo was referring to himself.

he asked his first term self if he was the greatest president of all time, and oddly enough, his first term self said, "no, I'm the greatest of all time but I like what you are doing in Iran".

he's a delusional pedo

[love_katz]

12. Telling lies and blaming someone else is $hitler's MO.

The MFer has never been held to account for the dumb a$$ stunts he pulls. He's always used his daddy's money to abuse our two-tier criminal justice system.

As a society, we are being brought face to face with the consequences of greed and unlimited wealth: destruction of our democracy and the structure provided by our government; injustice for anyone without unlimited funds; abject poverty and enforced serfdom of the majority by the Epstein class; destruction of the life support systems and beauty of our planet; etc, ad nauseum.

No one is riding to the rescue. I fear the kind of extreme measures that will probably be needed to end this nightmare and turn things around. I think most of us know that violent uprisings can make things worse in the long run ( meet the new boss, same as the old boss).
What makes this mess so unbearably aggravating is that it was avoidable. It was avoidable during Been A Dick's first run for office.
I think we need to keep blaring about the Epstein Files. It seems to be the only thread that we can pull on.

[rpannier]

14. Trump was President 45 and now is 47

Maybe he's referring to himself

[Pototan]

18. My thought exactly

[Playingmantis]

17. Could it be he is lying?!!!!!!

Not that that makes a difference to his worshipers.

[Joinfortmill]

20. He's a known crook and liar. He's also in the Epstein files

[BigmanPigman]

21. Didn't Nixon talk to ex-presidents' portraits when he got drunk

toward the end of his time in the White House? Maybe that's what is happening to tRump, except without the booze. Can you picture tRump drunk? He acts drunk when sober, maybe he should start drinking and see if that makes him seem sober/less crazy. Right now he makes zero sense when he speaks, he slurs most his words, he can't walk a straight line, he isn't aware of who people are and what he is supposed to do most of the time.

[livetohike]

38. I think he's lying about not drinking. He lies about everything

else. I hope I live long enough to have all of his secrets uncovered.

[Whip-poor-will]

22. Bush

GHW Bush is my guess.

He would have been the one who had that conversation about wanting to bomb about 20 years?? ago.

[lastlib]

25. Maybe he spoke to Putin......

which would raise doubt about the "former" POTUS.........

[generalbetrayus]

27. Maybe it was Nicolas Maduro he spoke to.

He snatched and is keeping the former President of Venezuela just for situations like this.

[Fla Dem]

28. The befuddled, deranged President obviously confused Putin with one of our President.

[Americanme]

29. The 47th president spoke to the 45th president.

In your guts, you know he's nuts. Or a damn liar.

[JohnnyLib2]

30. Not so much a lie as a stark delusional thought.

Alarm bells should be going off from the Chiefs of Staff and probably are.

[travelingthrulife]

44. His Cabinet members are just as nuts as he is.

[Aristus]

31. When George W. Bush chides you for starting an unnecessary war, you know things have gone around the bend.

n/t

[Martin68]

46. I don't think Bush "chided" Trump for anything. He just said he didn't tell Trump that he should have attacked Iraq

while he was president.

[City Lights]

33. Rapist is a serial liar. He is also delusional.

He needs round-the-clock mental health care.

[Ocelot II]

34. But was it a living president *of the United States* that he spoke to?

I can think of several living presidents of not the United States that might have been all for it.

[C_U_L8R]

35. Maybe he's just talking to himself.

Nothing would surprise at this point. His mind is rancid oatmeal.

[NH Ethylene]

36. He's really flailing.

He's desperate, and none of his bullying and threatening and ridiculous lying is helping him.

It's enjoyable to watch.

[Attilatheblond]

39. Trump must be hallucinating about chatting up Herbert Hoover again

Just spoke with the brilliant Herbert Hoover. He agreed I am doing great things and the economy will be the envy of the world.

[ironman99]

40. Talked to a former president

It did talk to a former president, President 45 was the one the 47 talked to.

[Martin68]

45. Trump is a lying liar who can't speak for more than a minute without introducing a new lie. Such a transparently

self-serving lie told like a five-year-old, hoping no one will notice.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

47. His favorite, the former president of McDonald's.

That would be typical for this idiot (golf course governing)........

[LetMyPeopleVote]

49. MaddowBlog-As war continues, Trump points to support from his many secret, unnamed friends

The president is certain he’s on the right track in Iran because he’s received backing from powerful people he refuses to identify.

An unidentified former president told Trump how right he was to launch the war in Iran. Unidentified foreign officials also told him they’re enthusiastic about Strait of Hormuz assistance.

It’s amazing how Trump enjoys the support of his many secret friends, isn’t it?
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-03-17T12:47:07.741Z

Toward the end of Donald Trump’s remarks at a Kennedy Center board event on Monday, the president took a moment to congratulate himself on launching a war with Iran, while claiming to have received private validation from one of his White House predecessors.

TRUMP: I've spoken to a certain president, who I like actually, a past president, he said, 'I wish I did it.' But they didn't do it. I'm doing it.

Q: Which president?

TRUMP: I can't tell you that. It would be very bad for his career even though he's got no career left.

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-03-16T17:12:25.531Z

According to the Republican incumbent, he recently spoke to “a certain” former president who allegedly told him, in reference to the military offensive in Iran, “I wish I did it. I wish I did.” Asked which former president made the comments, Trump replied, “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 left.”

Hours later, in the Oval Office, he repeated the story, claiming that a former president told him, “I wish I did what you did.” (Trump specifically said it was not George W. Bush.).....

Relatedly, the incumbent president boasted that there are countries that have responded to his call to assist the United States in the Strait of Hormuz, and that his administration would be “announcing them” soon. “I have to tell you, we have some that are really enthusiastic,” the Republican added. “They’re coming already. They’ve already started to get there.”

Trump on countries that will help keep Strait of Hormuz open: "We'll be announcing them. I have to tell you, we have some that are really enthusiastic. They're coming already. They've already started to. We'll give you a list."

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-03-16T16:58:32.609Z

The comments were notable in part because of Trump’s increasing incoherence on the subject, having changed his mind several times about whether he wants, needs or expects other countries to provide assistance in the region. (At one point on Monday, he claimed that he’d only sought international support as part of some kind of test, “because I want to find out how they react.”)....

In 2018, Bloomberg News published a memorable report that referred to Trump’s many “anonymous validators”: unnamed figures who were invariably important and powerful, who privately and habitually assured the president how right he was about his positions and priorities.

Eight year later, Trump continues to revel in the support of his many secret friends.

[Talitha]

50. Fred should have pulled out in 1945 instead of giving us this monster.

[2na fisherman]

53. Made-up Conversations And...

Another thing he does to try to mask obvious falsehoods is to use supposed comments of support with no attributions. Words like, "I've been hearing that..." and "Some people are saying that..." The Press should be asking him, where did you hear that and which people are saying that, but they don't. He has also been known to quote fictitious characters such as John Barron, often to praise himself or leak information.

[Number9Dream]

54. Trump will be a pathological liar until the day he dies (soon please)

[ChicagoTeamster]

55. He lies constantly. We all know former Trumpers who regret voting for him and support Democrats handling of Republicans

[Bluetus]

56. In Trump's defense, those other 4 Presidents were not there.

There has never been a more obvious case of senile dementia. With senility, there is no ability to differentiate between things that happened for real and those that only happened in one's mind. And there is no ability to differentiate between things that happened an hour ago versus 50 years ago.

I am around advanced senility patients every day. I have no doubt that Trump believes he did have this conversation, complete with "Sir, I only wish I had done this so you wouldn't have to."

I had one of these very advanced patients tell me today, "I have been working on a new design for an airplane." Well, 55 years ago, he did design some systems for aircraft. To him, it is as real as if it happened this morning. He has no drafting board, no calculator, not even a pencil and paper.

That is how dementia works. This guy was not lying to me. It never happened, but it was 100% real to him, just as real as the high school sweetheart he intends to propose to after having seen her at a class reunion a month ago. (She died 6 years ago.)

Now, here's the important thing. You don't recover from senile dementia. One just tries to put the patient in safe surroundings. The professionals advise us never to argue with their stories, because that just raises their anxiety levels. We just smile and let it pass. 10 minutes later, their mind is somewhere completely different.

But ... we can't have this with our President.

To take it one step further, Trump refused to identify the "President" with whom he had this "conversation." On one hand, one might say Trump was caught in a trap, sensed the danger, and tried to bullshit his way through. At some level, he might have had that thought process. But let me tell you, these recovered memories are not perfect. They are like dreams. When you wake up from a dream, you might remember some details clearly, but many of the details will be very cloudy, frustratingly so. I think this is the case with Trump. I think he honestly couldn't remember WHICH President it was. He just remembers the "Sir ... you were so right, and you did what I should have done. Thank you, sir." In his brain, it was not important WHO said this to him.

But I do think it is interesting that his conscious mind tried to put the pieces together. He did have a feeling it was a Democrat, and somebody he liked, but the brain refused to give him a clear picture. As he thinks more about it, I think he will come to believe it was Clinton, but his conscious mind will keep him from digging the hole deeper.

[Intractable]

57. Did he specifically say "President of the United States"?

It could have been the president of some local Republican club.

Or, even more plausible, he made the whole thing up.

[debPip]

58. Isn't it clear?

47 talked to 45

[bagimin]

59. Welcome to DU

[Scalded Nun]

62. He's a living, former president.

He talked to himself. He thinks he's being clever.