Foreign Policy - Iraq

• March, 2003: A cultural critic reported bumping into Trump at the Vanity Fair afterparty for the Oscars and learning that Trump thought the war in Iraq was “a mess.” “How to put this? In a normal year, your humble correspondents dive into the gushy crush of post-Oscar parties filled with self-loathing and childlike wonder. In our poorly cut rental tuxes and white pantsuits, we squeeze through fortified gates to enter the surreal Halls of Celebrity, so packed with sequined stars -- Whoops! Did we just slop Veuve Clicquot on Cameron Diaz's shoulder? Sorry! -- that, say, simply turning around in the back room at the Vanity Fair party at Morton's is like speed-flipping through the glossy pages of In Style magazine. But lo, this year was different. There is a war on, and even Hollywood understands this. […] Donald Trump, with Amazonian beauty Melania Knauss at his side, pronounces on the war and the stock market: ‘If they keep fighting it the way they did today, they're going to have a real problem.’ Looking as pensive as a ‘Nightline’ talking head, the Donald concludes, ‘The war's a mess,’ before sweeping off into the crowd.” (Washington Post, March 25, 2003)
• April, 2004: Donald Trump gave an interview to Esquire magazine in which he was sharply critical of the American invasion of Iraq. “Donald Trump gets all fired up over the Iraq invasion in the new issue of Esquire. ‘What was the purpose of the whole thing?’ he asks. ‘Hundreds and hundreds of young people killed. And what about the people coming back with no arms and no legs? Not to mention the other side. All those Iraqi kids who've been blown to pieces. And it turns out that all the reasons for the war were blatantly wrong. All this for nothing!’ The Donald also says that, if he were the national boss, ‘I would have been tougher on terrorism. Bin Laden would have been caught long ago. Tell me, how is it possible that we can't find a guy who's six foot six and supposedly needs a dialysis machine? Can you explain that one to me?’” (Washington Post, July 11, 2004)