Kamala, Newsom, AOC, and Mamdani join Schumer and Jeffries in condemning Trump strike on Iran

California Governor Gavin Newsom said on X, "The corrupt and repressive Iranian regime must never have nuclear weapons. The leadership of Iran must go. But that does not justify the President of the United States engaging in an illegal, dangerous war that will risk the lives of our American service members and our friends without justification to the American people. President Trump is putting Americans at risk abroad because he is unpopular at home."

https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/status/2027776698004213830?s=20

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump in th 2024 election, called the move a "regime-change war" and said it is a "dangerous and unnecessary gamble with American lives."

"What we are witnessing is not strength. It is recklessness dressed up as resolve. I know the threat that Iran poses, and they must never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon, but this is not the way to dismantle that threat. During the campaign, Donald Trump promised to end wars rather than start them. It was a lie. Then last year, he said 'we obliterated' Iran's nuclear program. That, too, was a lie," Harris added.

https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/status/2027820065886777456?s=20

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also sounded off about the strikes on Iran, and said they were a "catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression." Although the Trump administration and Israelis conducted targeted strikes against the regime, which was celebrated by Iranians people on the ground, Mamdani claimed that the strikes were "killing civilians" by "bombing cities" in Iran.

"Americans do not want this. They do not want another war in pursuit of regime change. They want relief from the affordability crisis. They want peace," Mamdani said.

Other leaders in the Democratic Party also made the statements for their part. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who has been eyeing the presidency in 2028, wrote that Trump is dragging the American people "into a war they did not want by a president who does not care about the long-term consequences of his actions."

Ocasio-Cortez claimed that the negotiations taking place between Iran and the US earlier this week could have "staved off war."

"The President walked away from these discussions and chose war instead," Ocasio-Cortez claimed. "President Trump flippantly acknowledged the possibility of American casualties, stating 'that often happens in war.' Mr. President: this was not an inevitability. This is a deliberate choice of aggression when diplomacy and security were within reach. Stop lying to the American people."

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said in a post, "Iran is a bad actor and must be aggressively confronted for its human rights violations, nuclear ambitions, support of terrorism and the threat it poses to our allies like Israel and Jordan in the region. However, absent exigent circumstances, the Trump administration must seek authorization for the preemptive use of military force that constitutes an act of war. Donald Trump failed to seek Congressional authorization prior to striking Iran. Instead, the President's decision to abandon diplomacy and launch a massive military attack has left American troops vulnerable to Iran's retaliatory actions."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) also posted in response to the strikes, accusing Trump of having "fitful cycles of lashing out and risking wider conflict" by using the strikes against Iran.

https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/2027776466516123973?s=20

"The administration must brief Congress, including an immediate all senators classified briefing and in public testimony, to answer these vital questions. The Senate should quickly return to session and reassert its constitutional duty by passing our resolution to enforce the War Powers Act. My prayers are with our brave American servicemembers," he added.