Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer accused President Donald Trump of “ranting like an unhinged madman” about Iran on Easter Sunday, joining a wave of Democratic lawmakers condemning the president’s latest threats against the country. The backlash comes after Trump posted a series of aggressive messages on Truth Social and repeated them in interviews throughout the day, according to The Hill.
Trump posted on Truth Social early Sunday morning, writing, “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F—in’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.” He connected the threats to Iran’s continued blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has pushed energy prices higher across the globe. The national average for a gallon of regular gas hit $4.119 on Sunday, according to AAA, up from $3.258 a year ago.
Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut led the charge against Trump’s rhetoric, calling his threats “a clear war crime.” Murphy posted on X that the president was “calling reporters today to tell them he is going to commit mass war crimes next week,” and urged Republican leaders to step in. “GOP leaders need to stop him,” Murphy wrote.
Murphy argued that the threats wouldn’t even achieve their stated goal. “Never mind that blowing up bridges and power plants and killing innocent Iranians won’t reopen the Strait,” he wrote. “It’s also a clear war crime.” He added that Trump “isn’t even pretending to choose military targets” and is willing to “kill tens of thousands of civilians in order to cause a national panic.”
Murphy calls Trump’s threats ‘pure insanity’
The senator also took issue with the scale of what Trump was promising. “He says he’s going to destroy ALL Iranian bridges and power plants,” Murphy wrote. “Ok, he’s probably lying. But even blowing up a fraction will kill thousands of innocent people who work in those power plants and travel on the nation’s roads. That’s also a war crime.”
Murphy pointed out that the Strait of Hormuz “WAS OPEN BEFORE TRUMP STARTED BOMBING IRAN???” — calling the entire situation “pure insanity” that “won’t work” and will only “permanently stain America.” He called on Congress to act immediately, writing, “GOP leaders should call Congress back into session this week to end this war.”
The civilian toll from previous strikes is already severe. U.S. and Israeli airstrikes launched against Iran on February 28 have killed more than 1,600 civilians, including at least 244 children, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency.
Trump had earlier warned Iran of “Power Plant Day” and “Bridge Day” if the Strait remained closed, and Iran has since appeared to shoot down a U.S. F-15E despite Trump’s earlier claims that its radar had been destroyed.
Other Democrats pile on
Schumer said Trump is “threatening possible war crimes and alienating allies,” adding, “This is who he is, but this is not who we are. Our country deserves so much better.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the president’s rhetoric “disgusting and unhinged” on X, writing, “Something is really wrong with this guy. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Senator Bernie Sanders described Trump’s remarks as “the ravings of a dangerous and mentally unbalanced individual” and echoed Murphy’s call for congressional action. “Congress has got to act NOW. End this war,” Sanders wrote. The unified pushback from top Democrats underscores the growing alarm on Capitol Hill over the direction of Trump’s Iran policy.
