Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Trump Just Tried To Claim He Spoke To A 'Former President' About Iran—But There's One Big Problem

Donald Trump
Alex Wong/Getty Images

President Trump claimed on Monday that he'd spoken to a "former president" who expressed regret about not attacking Iran—and spokespeople for all of the living former presidents responded to debunk his boast.

Make us preferred on Google

MAGA Republican President Donald Trump isn't helping his handlers refute observations of his signs of dementia or overall cognitive decline.

According to the United Kingdom's The Independent, the POTUS told the press at least three times on Monday that one of his predecessors told him they wished they had launched an unprovoked attack on Iran just like Trump did.


At one point during a meeting of the Kennedy Center’s board, Trump stated:

"Look, for 47 years, no President was willing to do what I’m doing, and they should have done it a long time ago. It would have been a lot easier. There’s no President that wanted to do it. And yet every President knew."

For those doing the math, 47 years ago was 1979. On November 4, 1979, Iranian students attacked the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage.

Iranian revolutionaries were outraged that the U.S. allowed the deposed Shah of Iran to enter the United States for medical treatment.

The siege lasted for 444 days with hostages being formally released on January 20, 1981, minutes after Republican President Ronald Reagan's inauguration after negotiations regarding the unfreezing of Iranian assets held by the United States.

Trump added:

"I’ve spoken to a certain president, who I like, actually, a past President, a former President. He said, 'I wish I did it, I wish I did,’ but they didn’t do it. I’m doing it."

For many, the story gave "big, strong men with tears in their eyes" vibes. Trump and his children often relay stories of unidentified stereotypical alpha men crying as they praise how great President Trump is.

When pressed for the identity of the President who speaks to him, Trump declared:

"I can’t tell you that. I don’t want to embarrass him. It would be very bad for his career, even though he’s got no career."

You can see a clip of one time Trump made the claim in front of video cameras here:

There's only one problem. Representatives for former Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden and former Republican President George W. Bush were quick to share, "Not me!" Each said they had not spoken with Trump since he decided to join Israel in attacking the sovereign nation of Iran.

@NBCNews/X

So, did Trump just lie?

His presidencies—45 and 47—have been marked by constant, pervasive, easily debunked lies, half truths, and misinformation.

Or was Trump talking to himself? Technically Trump is both a former President (#45) and current POTUS (#47) since his two terms aren't successive.

Or does Trump truly believe he spoke to a former President—one who heaped praise on him over his wildly unpopular decision to attack Iran at the request of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu?

An inability to distinguish reality from fantasy or dreams is a sign of the dementia and cognitive decline frequently being pointed out by observers of Trump's speech, movement, and behavior.

@donny_rover1879/X

Whatever the cause—lying, talking to himself, or delusions—people had a field day with Trump's latest unsubstantiated, widely refuted boast.





🚨 Donald Trump appears to be speaking to imaginary former presidents.Pray for America! The President of the United States is undergoing a rapid mental decline.

[image or embed]
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@govpressoffice.gov.ca.gov) March 17, 2026 at 1:19 PM


So, the former president that praised Trump for this is? No one. He’s either talking to ghosts or the guy in the mirror. Neither of which is good!!
— 💙🇨🇦 𝙈𝙚𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙨 𝙅𝙖𝙧𝙫™️🎹 Ⓜ️Ⓜ️ 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇨🇦🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🦋🦋 (@justjarvtm.bsky.social) March 16, 2026 at 10:01 PM





It has long been rumored that the ghost of President Abraham Lincoln haunts the White House, especially the Lincoln bedroom. It's possible Trump had a conversation with a deceased former President, as he did claim the person had no current career and never said the President he spoke to was alive.

However, unless President Lincoln has stayed up on current affairs throughout his death, he'd be unaware of what or where "Iran" or "Israel" are. During President Lincoln's life, Iran wasn't called Iran internationally and a nation called Israel didn't exist on any maps.

On March 21, 1935, Iran officially adopted its native name of "Iran" instead of "Persia" in international correspondence by decree of Reza Shah Pahlavi. Westerners used "Persia" to refer to both the region and the country for centuries, but the nation was historically known internally as Iran—meaning "Land of the Aryans"—for thousands of years.

While there are scriptural and historical references to Israel and the people of Israel dating back to the 13th century BCE, the modern State of Israel adopted the name upon its declaration of independence on May 14, 1948.

But maybe Abe joins Donald for his all night binge watching of Fox News, OAN, and Newsmax. Or maybe Trump just thinks he does.

More from People/donald-trump

Screenshots of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
@aoc/Instagram

AOC Uses Midterm Election To Perfectly Explain Where 'Millennial Cringe' Comes From To Gen Z

New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez broke down where so-called "millennial cringe" comes from to Gen Z voters after Democrats swept midterm election races to win back both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate in a clear repudiation of the Trump administration.

The term "millennial cringe" has gained popularity among Gen Z to mock the optimistic Internet culture of the 2010s. Ocasio-Cortez said "millennial cringe" is understandable when you consider the impact millennials had by electing Barack Obama, who became the nation's first Black president.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Donald Trump and Dominic Waghorn
@DominicWaghorn/X

Reporter Goes Viral After Asking Absolutely Brutal Question To Trump Following Disastrous Midterms

Sky News reporter Dominic Waghorn went viral after he bluntly asked President Donald Trump what it feels like "to be a loser" after Democrats swept midterm election races to win back both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate in a clear repudiation of the Trump administration.

Waghorn, the international affairs editor for Sky News, was among the reporters who gathered on the White House lawn to speak to the president following these historic losses.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Ted Cruz
Verdict with Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz Roasted After Making Hilariously Bleak Realization Following Texas Midterm Elections

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz was widely mocked after he realized he is the only statewide elected Republican left in his state after Democrats swept every statewide race, winning the governorship and a Senate seat for the first time in decades.

In Texas, the election between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton in the race for the U.S. Senate was over before Election Day even hit because Talarico received more early votes than Paxton received in total. Gina Hinojosa also stunned the country after beating Greg Abbott to become the first Latina to be elected to serve as governor of the state.

Keep ReadingShow less
Demi Lovato at the Airbnb.org Gala held at Milk Studios on October 28, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
Katie Flores/WWD via Getty Images

Demi Lovato's Backlash-Sparking Criticism Of Artist Who Drew Her As Mermaid Resurfaces—And Fans Have Flipped Their Perspective

In 2016, Demi Lovato questioned why an artist had given her a smaller waist and bigger breasts in a mermaid illustration, and the internet had plenty to say about it. Now the drawing has resurfaced, and apparently, a decade was enough time for some people to reconsider.

Enter Vladimir Serbanescu, better known as VladyArt. The Romanian illustrator was only 17 and already making a name for himself with celebrity-inspired fantasy portraits. Then one of his subjects decided to weigh in.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @nataliemeansnice's TikTok
@nataliemeansnice/TikTok

Mom Goes Viral After Realizing She Spent Halloween Event With White Lips After Hilarious Mix-Up

Halloween is meant to be all fun and games, but people say, "Trick or treat!" for a reason!

Mom and TikToker Natalie Drue, or @nataliemeansnice on the social media platform, went to a candy-free trunk-or-treat event with her 2-year-old daughter, where they toured a variety of trunks presented by local businesses, corporations, and members of the neighborhood.

Keep ReadingShow less