Karoline Leavitt defends Trump's claim that Iran has Tomahawk missiles as 'opinion'
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended what she claimed is President Donald Trump's right to share his opinion that Iran has U.S. Tomahawk missiles, a major weapon currently only in the possession of the United States, Australia, and the U.K.
On Monday, President Trump said Iran had U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles when asked if the United States would accept responsibility for the killing of at least 165 people at an Iranian girls' school.
“Whether it’s Iran or somebody else … a Tomahawk is very generic,” Trump said, Newsweek reported. He also claimed that the missile is “sold and used by other countries” and that Iran “also has some Tomahawks.”
Newsweek noted that when pressed on why he appeared to be the only one making that claim, Trump said, “Because I just don’t know enough about it.”
He added that he was "willing to live with" the findings of any official investigation.
"There has never been an indication that Iran has any Tomahawks," CNN reported, "which are made by US defense manufacturer Raytheon for the US military, subject to strict export controls and not the 'generic' product Trump claimed Monday."
On Tuesday, Leavitt chastised a reporter who asked about the president's apparently erroneous claim.
"The president has a right to share his opinions with the American public," she said, "but he has said he'll accept the conclusion of that investigation, and, frankly, we're not going to be harassed by the New York Times, who's been putting out a lot of articles on this, making claims that have just not been verified by the Department of War to quickly wrap up this investigation, because the New York Times is calling on us to do so."
The Atlantic's Tom Nichols, a retired U.S. Naval War College professor, mockingly responded, "Stop pointing out that the president has no idea what he's talking about."
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