Support the Iraq War...Did he or didn't he?

Was Donald Trump for the war in Iraq or wasn’t he? This question has occupied the airwaves of late, since Wednesday’s forum when moderator Matt Lauer was slammed for his failure to question Donald Trump’s claims of opposition to the Iraq War.

The question comes down to an interpretation of statements that Trump made before he was a politician. Chronicled in a detailed timeline by FactCheck.org (a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center) and the Washington Post, the statements reveal a man who reflected the evolving feelings of many at the time: early enthusiasm for the war and  exhaustion as the occupation progressed.  

Here are the facts:

No one has been able to find evidence that Donald Trump opposed the Iraq war before the invasion - not FactCheck.org, not PolitiFact and not the WaPo Fact Checker.

During this time, Trump made two statements that supported the invasion: on the Howard Stern Show on Sept. 11, 2002 (conveniently excerpted by BuzzFeed ) and in an interview with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto on March 21 (another BuzzFeed scoop).

The first inklings of doubt were seen in March 2003 and by 2004, Trump was well on the record as opposing the invasion.

In Wednesday’s forum among other places, Trump claimed that he always opposed the Iraq War and knew it would be disastrous for the Middle East. Despite his insistence that he fought “very, very hard” against going into Iraq, warning, “you’ll destabilize the Middle East,” Trump has yet to provide the promised “25 stories” that prove this to be the case.

What’s up?

Donald Trump changed his opinion on the war, plain and simple. Was he swayed by popular opinion or merely a reflection of the attitude of the nation? We’ll never know and frankly, it doesn’t matter. That fact is… he changed.

I can’t fault The Donald for changing his tune here. Many politicians that supported the war – including Hillary Clinton - were sent scrambling once the initial justification disappeared. Clinton changed her opinion and has been open about it. Trump cannot seem to do the same and this is what makes his candidacy so alarming. Instead of acknowledging a learning process and accepting his evolving views, he points his finger at the media, calling them dishonest, liars.

In this instance he ought to “woman up” and follow Clinton’s lead.