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American military action in Iran has entered its second week \u2014 and the political war at home is in full swing. <\/span>Democrats and legacy media are racing to brand President Donald Trump the architect of yet another \u201cforever war,\u201d accusing him of violating the Constitution and demanding he seek congressional approval if he wants to continue bombing Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n For those who don\u2019t spend their weekends glued to the television \u2014 and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week\u2019s worth of network and cable news media spin \u2014 The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what you may have missed.<\/p>\n In addition to complaining about Trump taking action without first getting the support of Congress, the key note struck by legacy media outlets was the notion that war with Iran \u2014 which has thus far lasted just over a week \u2014 will necessarily snowball into the same kind of long, drawn-out affair the United States saw in Iraq and Afghanistan: a \u201cforever war.\u201d<\/p>\n To kick off the weekend, Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) sat down with HBO host and comedian Bill Maher<\/a>, where he repeated the same refrain being sung by most Democrats: Trump must first go to Congress.<\/em><\/p>\n Maher quickly laid a rhetorical trap for the lawmaker: \u201cThis statement from the administration: \u2018The president had the constitutional authority to direct the use of military force because he could reasonably determine that such use of force was in the national interest.\u2019 That\u2019s too vague for you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTotally vague,\u201d Schiff agreed.<\/p>\n Maher dropped the other shoe then, saying, \u201cOK. Because that\u2019s from Obama about Libya.\u201d<\/p>\n Schiff scrambled, saying that then-President Barack Obama had taken the issue to Congress when he wanted to take action in Syria in 2013. He ignored Obama\u2019s 2011 actions in Libya entirely, largely because the Obama administration continued those actions for months without ever getting congressional approval.<\/p>\n By Sunday morning, the narrative had shifted to focus on whether or not Iran would be another \u201cforever war.\u201d<\/p>\n On ABC\u2019s \u201cThis Week,\u201d anchor Martha Raddatz spoke with correspondent Ian Pannell about the objectives \u2014 which they said were thus far unclear \u2014 and suggested that it would be difficult to evaluate whether the U.S. and Israeli coalition had \u201cwon,\u201d and if so, when.<\/p>\n \u201cThe president tells us we\u2019re winning. How do we know that we\u2019re winning, and if we don\u2019t know that, how do we know when it ends?\u201d<\/p>\n ABC News\u2019 Ian Pannell joins Martha Raddatz in Jerusalem as the UAE joins the U.S. and Israel in firing shots into Iran: \u201cThe president tells us we\u2019re winning. How do we know that we\u2019re winning, and if we don\u2019t know that, how do we know when it ends?\u201d https:\/\/t.co\/zjSQAcbPh6<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/1XV7irvDGi<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 8, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz pushed back on Raddatz later in the show, explaining that the objectives in Iran were fairly straightforward. The Trump administration, he says, is \u201cfocused on an Iran that can no longer pose a threat to Americans, in an American-first foreign policy, but also no longer pose a threat to our allies in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz tells Martha Raddatz that President Trump \u201cis focused on an Iran that can no longer pose a threat to Americans, in an American-first foreign policy, but also no longer pose a threat to our allies in the region.\u201d https:\/\/t.co\/FIig18PSLv<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/wHxMAznCAY<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 8, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Admiral (Ret.) Mike Mullen, who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs at the end of former President George W. Bush\u2019s last term and the beginning of former President Barack Obama\u2019s first, warned that wars can start small and grow quickly, especially if the declared objectives change in any way.<\/p>\n \u201cWars expand, objectives change, circumstances come up that you didn\u2019t expect,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Retired Adm. Mike Mullen, former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that he worries the current war with Iran could drag on for years: \u201cWars expand, objectives change, circumstances come up that you didn\u2019t expect.\u201d https:\/\/t.co\/6dNhTiUoMP<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/UG2pVmwtjy<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 8, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cYes, the [Iranian] supreme leader is dead, but I don\u2019t think the regime change that we\u2019re talking about is represented just by that,\u201d Mullen added, saying that \u201cthe regime is embedded, deep, dedicated, and sees this war as a war of survival for Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, the [Iranian] supreme leader is dead, but I don\u2019t think the regime change that we\u2019re talking about is represented just by that.\u201d Ret. Admiral Mike Mullen says that he thinks \u201cthe regime is embedded, deep, dedicated, and sees this war as a war of survival for Iran.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/F5yMWOLhcf<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 8, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n On CNN\u2019s \u201cState of the Union,\u201d anchor Jake Tapper pressed Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) on his vow to vote against funding for any military action in Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have said you\u2019re a \u2018hell no\u2019 on funding the war. We have seen this movie before. We know that vote will be cast as \u2014 especially if you run for higher office \u2014 you voting against the troops,\u201d Tapper prompted.<\/p>\n \u201cOh come on I mean, the American people don\u2019t want this war,\u201d Murphy scoffed. \u201cThey don\u2019t want this war. They have seen what happens when American troops go into places like Iraq, places like Afghanistan. Ultimately we get a lot of people killed, we waste a lot of dollars, the one thing the American people are clear about is they do not want the United States dragged into another long term war in the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n TAPPER: \u201cYou have said you\u2019re a \u2018hell no\u2019 on funding the war. We have seen this movie before. We know that vote will be cast as \u2013 especially if you run for higher office \u2013 you voting against the troops.\u201d<\/p>\n MURPHY: \u201cOh come on I mean, the American people don\u2019t want this war.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/lTB5isM8I7<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) March 8, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Although President Trump has said that he is willing to continue military action in Iran as long as it takes to achieve his objectives, his initial assessment was that the entire thing could be handled in a matter of weeks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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