Trump Falsely Claims Former President Told Him They Wished They Had Bombed Iran

On March 16, 2026, President Trump made false claims on two separate occasions that he had recently spoken to a former U.S. president who expressed regret about not having attacked Iran during their presidency. Trump stated, "I spoke to one of the former presidents, who I actually like... And he said, 'I wish I did what you did.'" When asked which president, Trump refused to identify them, saying "I can't tell you that. It would be very bad for his career even though he's got no career left." Representatives for all four living former presidents—Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama—subsequently denied having any such conversation with Trump about Iran. The fabricated endorsement appeared designed to justify Trump's military actions against Iran during an ongoing conflict. This represents a pattern of manufacturing authority figure endorsements to legitimize controversial decisions.

"I spoke to one of the former presidents, who I actually like... And he said, 'I wish I did what you did.'" — Trump made this claim when discussing his military actions against Iran, refusing to identify which former president allegedly made the statement despite all living former presidents' representatives subsequently denying any such conversation occurred.