“I hope they do more and more and more [strikes],” Hewitt said, adding that “Iran is incorrigible” and touting Fox chief political analyst Brit Hume’s statement that “they’re never going to change, unless it’s by force."
“Kudos to the president for making them go back at least to the ceasefire,” he concluded.
But by Hewitt’s standard from late June, Trump is endangering U.S. national security by risking Republican control of Congress rather than holding back on further attacks on Iran until after the midterms.
As the Trump administration was negotiating terms with Iran that would leave the United States in a weaker geostrategic position than before it started the war, Hewitt explained that Trump had decided “weeks ago” to forestall further combat until after the midterms, a position he supported.
“Keeping the Senate and (against all odds) the House in GOP hands isn’t just a political goal for Republicans, it’s critical to the national security,” he wrote on social media on June 18. “President Trump factoring in the realities of domestic politics and their consequences is a right and proper calculation."
“The MOU's language is bad,” Hewitt added on Fox the following night. “I think everyone is reading into it what they want but the reality is talk to me in five months, after the election, and I think we'll be back in the battle with Iran."
But by Hewitt’s standard from late May (“weeks ago,” in fact), Trump was endangering national security by focusing on domestic politics.
Hewitt praised Trump’s statement during a May 27 Cabinet meeting that the midterm elections would not factor into his thinking on Iran. “What I appreciate is the president said he's not caring about the midterms,” he said on Fox. “What that means, and I think everyone understands, is he's putting the national security ahead of gas prices."
It’s almost as if Hewitt has no consistent standard on the war other than praising whatever Trump does.
