Trump's 'whole civilization will die tonight' Iran threat polarizes social media
Social media exploded on Tuesday morning when President Donald Trump warned in a Truth Social post that an entire "civilization will die tonight," while threatening a devastating U.S. attack against Iran that prompted outrage from critics.
"A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will," Trump declared in the post.
"However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World," Trump continued. "47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!"
In a prior Truth Social post issued on Easter Sunday, the president had threatened a Tuesday attack on the Middle Eastern country's power plants and bridges. During remarks on Monday, Trump indicated the U.S. has "a plan … where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o'clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding, and never to be used again. I mean complete demolition by 12 o'clock."
Trump gave the Iranian regime until 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday to agree to a ceasefire that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz. He has said he doesn’t want the attack to happen, but the threat against an entire civilization polarized social media.
Some accused the president of threatening genocide, while others suggested the tough talk is just a negotiation tactic.
Newsweek’s Josh Hammer recalled a 2016 Salena Zito quote to "take Trump seriously but not literally," and said a decade later that message is still accurate.
"And it's frankly amazing that it still needs to be said," Hammer wrote.
TRUMP DEADLINE FOR IRAN TICKS CLOSER AS ISLAMIC REPUBLIC REJECTS TEMPORARY CEASEFIRE
New York Times columnist David French quickly condemned the message.
"This is completely deranged rhetoric. If you heard this kind of ranting from a family member who possessed no power at all, you'd be worried about them. From the president, it's horrifying. This is obvious 25th Amendment territory, but people are so desensitized that they can't see it," French responded.
Anti-Trump pundit Charlie Sykes declared he had "three quick thoughts" that weren’t particularly flattering, asking, "(1) Has any president of this country — or for that matter, any leader of a liberal democracy — ever threatened the destruction of a ‘whole civilization’ before?"
"(2) The line between the so-called ‘madman theory’ and an actual madman is quite thin, isn’t it? (3) It really was a bad idea to entrust this man with the nuclear button, wasn’t it?" Sykes continued.
Billionaire Tom Steyer, the outspoken liberal megadonor and Califonria gubertorial candidate, declared that Trump should "be out" of office.
"If this isn’t a reason to invoke the 25th Amendment, then nothing is," Steyer wrote. "He’s out of his mind."
While many have condemned Trump’s threat, others have shown support or downplayed the rhetoric.
"The truth is, no pundit, influencer, or anonymous furry has a clue as to what Trump is going to do tonight. That is perhaps Trump’s ultimate superpower, keeping everyone on their toes after all these years. I, for one, have faith in him and the people around him," libertarian podcaster Dave Rubin wrote.
"Donald Trump has been a national politician for a decade. Anyone still reacting to the guy’s negotiating tactics and hyperbole with this sort of hysteria ten years in should be disqualified from political commentary. If he nukes Tehran at 8pm, I’ll admit I’m the crazy one," Daily Wire co-founder Jeremy Boreing wrote.
Outkick’s Clay Travis wrote, "Donald Trump has made hyperbolic comments as part of negotiation tactics for a full decade, especially on social media, and yet people still run around like insane people reacting to his posts on here. I truly don’t get it."
IRAN WAR NEARS ‘COMPLETION’ AS TRUMP EYES DEADLINE — WHAT THE ENDGAME COULD LOOK LIKE
Conservative radio host Erick Erickson said, "The Left ascribes rational purpose to everyone other than Trump. Probably not a coincidence that he has beaten them twice."
Meanwhile, Bill Kristol declared, "To conservatives who object when some of us have suggested Trump is a fascist, and who complain when we point out much of real existing American conservatism has devolved into fascism, if you’re silent about Trump’s threat of genocide you’re proving the point you’ve objected to."
MS NOW political analyst Richard Stengel wrote, "An American president threatening the death of an ancient civilization is in some ways the end of the 250-year moral experiment of a constitutional republic that the framers saw as a model for all mankind."
Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent, who quit last month over his opposition to the Iran war, also warned on Tuesday that the president's proposed course of action would threaten America's status as the world's top superpower.
"Trump believes he is threatening Iran with destruction, but it is America that now stands in danger. If he attempts to eradicate Iranian civilization, the United States will no longer be viewed as a stabilizing force in the world, but as an agent of chaos —effectively ending our status as the world’s greatest superpower," Kent wrote in a post on X. "This would upend our economy and shatter the global order. The process is already underway, yet we still have time to avert catastrophe if Trump finds the courage to pursue serious negotiations rather than reckless rage and destruction."
Many others took to social media with thoughts on Trump's threat:
The White House said Iran still has time to make a deal.
"The Iranian regime has until 8PM Eastern Time to meet the moment and make a deal with the United States. Only the President knows where things stand and what he will do," press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital when asked about criticism of the threat.
Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.