Buttigieg leans on combat experience to criticize Trump’s ‘war of choice’ in Iran

The Iran war has given former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg an opening to lean hard on his military background, blasting President Trump’s “war of choice” in a series of public appearances.  

As one of the few potential 2028 Democratic presidential contenders with combat-zone experience, Buttigieg is emerging as one of Trump’s loudest critics as foreign policy returns to the forefront.

In appearances on television and a popular podcast, social media posts and on his own Substack platform, Buttigieg has tied Trump’s military action in Iran directly to the war in Iraq — which became a defining issue for former President George W. Bush in the early 2000s. 

“This nation learned the hard way that an unnecessary war, with no plan for what comes next, can lead to years of chaos and put America in still great danger,” Buttigieg said in a social media post.

After the strikes began Feb. 28, all the potential Democratic 2028 candidates put out statements denouncing the administration and various aspects of the war. But Buttigieg, who served in the Navy Reserves and was deployed to Afghanistan, was able to wade in not just politically but from personal experience.

In an interview on the podcast “MeidasTouch,” Buttigieg was able to talk about his perspective as a veteran in the Middle East, when he noted the six Americans at that time who had been killed in the new war. 

“When you get ready to deploy, you of course are constantly thinking about the worst case scenario, and the scenario that you pray hard is never going to happen is that your loved ones get the knock on the door,” Buttigieg said. 

“That has now happened to six families that we know of. And the people who serve they’re patriots, they’re ready to go wherever their chain of command tells them they are needed,” he added. “In exchange for them making that promise, putting their lives on the line, they are supposed to be........

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