LETTER: Donald Trump and protests in Iran
In his Jan. 26 column, Wayne Allyn Root claims President Donald Trump “flexed America’s muscle” and “the Iranian people were emboldened” and “Trump inspired them to rise up against their evil leaders.”
In a Jan. 3, 2018, op-ed for The Washington Post, Mike Pence wrote, “Eight-and-a-half years ago, Americans watched the people of Iran rise up to claim their birthright of freedom. In the ‘Green Revolution,’ millions of courageous young men and women filled the streets …” Anti-government protests in Iran predate Mr. Trump — and former President Barack Obama.
Anti-American protests occurred after Soleimani was killed on Jan. 3. The Iranian government attempted to capitalize on this sentiment by painting U.S. and Israeli flags in high traffic areas where people would be forced to walk over them. On Jan. 12, we saw images of students at Tehran’s Shahid Beheshti University walk around the flags painted on their sidewalk.
What did Trump do on Jan. 11 to inspire the students? Nothing.
On Jan. 11, Iran finally admitted it shot down the Ukrainian airliner. Anti-government protests occurred again. Showing defiance of the Iranian government was the reason the students walked around the flags.
Iranian protesters may have felt encouraged by the Trump administration, but it’s not accurate to give Mr. Trump the credit for anti-government protests.
