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Prominent Democrats weighing presidential runs forcefully condemned President Trump\u2019s decision to go to war in Iran as they gathered this week at a convention in New York, arguing that he had failed to get the buy-in of the American public for a military campaign that has driven up costs.<\/p>\n
Opposition to the war is emerging as a rallying point for the Democrats, who expressed alarm at recent apocalyptic threats<\/a> Mr. Trump directed at Iran and the spike in inflation<\/a> driven by the conflict. Several speakers, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, described the conflict with a phrase that members of both parties have used when denouncing Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine, calling it a \u201cwar of choice.\u201d<\/p>\n A White House spokeswoman, Anna Kelly, rejected the criticism, saying in a statement that Mr. Trump had taken \u201ccourageous action,\u201d and that Democrats had \u201cspent decades talking about the threat posed by Iran, but doing nothing about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what a number of the possible Democratic presidential candidates had to say at the gathering, hosted by the Rev. Al Sharpton\u2019s group, the National Action Network.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Ms. Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, said she was \u201cunequivocally opposed to this war of choice.\u201d She argued that Mr. Trump was the first American president since World War II who did not seek to uphold international rules and norms.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile he struts around boasting about how he will annihilate a whole people, what he is in fact doing \u2014 and this is why it\u2019s important to watch he does and not just listen to what he says \u2014 what is he doing is making us weaker, unreliable and less influential,\u201d Ms. Harris said.<\/p>\n Regarding Mr. Trump\u2019s 2024 campaign vow to curtail rising prices, Ms. Harris leveled a blunt accusation: \u201cHe lied.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Buttigieg, the former transportation secretary, said Americans were \u201cpaying directly\u201d for the war and getting nothing in return.<\/p>\n \u201cYou do not put American troops\u2019 lives on the line unless you have no other good alternative,\u201d said Mr. Buttigieg, a former Navy intelligence officer who served in Afghanistan. \u201cWell, look at what they did. We\u2019re not in this war because we had to be. We\u2019re in this war because he wanted to be \u2014 after specifically promising not to launch these kinds of wars.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The war has touched Americans at home in the \u201cmost immediate, personal ways,\u201d Mr. Buttigieg argued. \u201cIf you want a house, your mortgage went up, because interests went up, because of this war,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery time you fill up your tank of gas got more expensive. Because of this war.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Moore, an Army veteran, also drew on his service in Afghanistan, saying he was concerned that the United States was \u201cwalking into the same trap.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest challenge for me, though, is the lack of conversation that\u2019s happening with the American people,\u201d <\/strong>Mr. Moore said. <\/strong>\u201cThese are our taxpayer dollars that are being used to do this. This is \u2014 you know, we are now watching how our gas prices continue to skyrocket, energy prices continue to skyrocket, groceries are more expensive, and we are doing this foreign war that none of us asked for but is being done in our name.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking to reporters at the convention, Mr. Shapiro ridiculed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, saying that he was in over his head.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s like an 8-year-old playing with toy soldiers,\u201d Mr. Shapiro said. \u201cThis guy is so unqualified to serve as the secretary of defense. Yet that\u2019s who is in charge, doing whatever the hell the president tells him to do. And that\u2019s really dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n A Pentagon spokesman, Sean Parnell, responded in a statement saying, \u201cUnlike Josh Shapiro, Secretary Hegseth has been deployed to defend our country abroad and understands the reality of combat operations.\u201d<\/p>\n Onstage with Mr. Sharpton, Mr. Shapiro said Mr. Trump had started a \u201cwar of choice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe president never came to the American people and said, \u2018This is our objective\u2019 or \u2018These are our objectives,\u2019\u201d Mr. Shapiro said. \u201cAnd if you don\u2019t know why you went in, you sure as heck don\u2019t know when it\u2019s time to come out, or how to get out.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Khanna, a progressive Democrat, stood out at the conference by calling for the removal of Mr. Trump from office, echoing a recent call<\/a> from a group of congressional Democrats.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need more moral clarity in our party and conviction in our party. I called for the 25th Amendment and impeachment<\/a> when Donald Trump threatened genocide of the Iranian people,\u201d Mr. Khanna told Mr. Sharpton, referring to Mr. Trump\u2019s threat to wipe out Iranian civilization on Tuesday.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAnd I\u2019m tired of people saying: Well, do we have the votes? What does the polling say? What do the swing voters think? What are the tactics?\u201d Mr. Khanna added. \u201cHow about: A president of the United States should not threaten genocide for a civilization.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nKamala Harris<\/span><\/h3>\n
Pete Buttigieg<\/span><\/h3>\n
Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland<\/span><\/h3>\n
Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania<\/span><\/h3>\n
Representative Ro Khanna of California<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n