WASHINGTON — Donald Trump continues to say he opposed the Iraq War ahead of the invasion in 2003, a statement he repeated during Saturday’s Republican debate in New Hampshire. But the evidence is slim that he ever warned against it publicly.
‘‘I’m the only one up here, when the war in Iraq — I was the one who said, don’t go, don’t do it, you’re going to destabilize the Middle East. So I’m not the one with the trigger,’’ Trump said during the televised debate.
An extensive review of news coverage before and during the invasion yielded just two references to Trump and his views on the war.
The first was in a March 25, 2003 article in The Washington Post, five days after the invasion began. At the Oscars after-party, Trump reportedly said: ‘‘If they keep fighting it the way they did today, they’re going to have a real problem.’’
In the weekend after the invasion, Trump said on Fox News: ‘‘I think the market’s going to go up like a rocket!’’
Trump clearly was outspoken about his opposition starting in 2004, the year he reportedly considered a presidential bid but instead launched his popular TV series, ‘‘The Apprentice.’’
The most direct criticism of the Iraq War by Trump was in an August 2004 cover story in Esquire magazine.
‘‘Look at the war in Iraq and the mess that we’re in,’’ Trump said in the interview. “I would never have handled it that way. Does anybody really believe that Iraq is going to be a wonderful democracy where people are going to run down to the voting box and gently put in their ballot and the winner is happily going to step up to lead the county? C’mon.’’
“Two minutes after we leave, there’s going to be a revolution, and the meanest, toughest, smartest, most vicious guy will take over. And he’ll have weapons of mass destruction, which Saddam didn’t have,’’ he added.
Trump also talked during the debate about how China should rein in North Korea. “They have total, absolute control, practically, of North Korea,’’ he said.
While China has leverage over its client state, given that much of Pyongyang’s international trade is with Beijing, how much leverage is subject to debate. Moreover, China is often reluctant to use that leverage, because officials view North Korea as a useful buffer state with South Korea. A collapse of North Korea — and reunification on the Korean Peninsula — is not currently viewed in China’s interests.
Every American administration has dreamed that China will push North Korea to halt its nuclear ambitions, but China always disappoints.
The limits of China’s leverage are best illustrated by the fact that North Korea has repeatedly tested a nuclear device despite Beijing’s vehement objections.
The unwillingness of China to use even its limited leverage was demonstrated by a New York Times article that appeared the morning of the debate, detailing how China sidestepped United Nations sanctions prohibiting luxury goods to North Korea in order to build a ski resort for North Korea’s leaders.
In Monday’s editions, The Times reported on China’s dismay about the missile launch
Veteran Chinese diplomat Wu Dawei was unable last week to persuade the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, to back down, The Times said. Not only did Kim send Wu home empty-handed, he ordered the launch a day earlier than expected, causing it to fall on an important Chinese holiday, the eve of the Lunar New Year. Despite the repeated humiliation of his country, there are no immediate signs that President Xi Jinping of China will radically change his country’s policy toward its traditional ally.
