Former Democratic Party advisor Dan Turrentine has publicly criticized recent calls for impeaching President Donald Trump over his decision to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, calling such demands ‘unhinged’ and a display of ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome.’ Turrentine, who worked under Hillary Clinton and former Colorado Governor Jared Polis, argued that the operation was a legitimate use of executive power, akin to President Barack Obama’s 2011 strike that killed Osama bin Laden.
Following the White House’s ‘Operation Midnight Hammer,’ which targeted three of Iran’s key nuclear sites, several Democrats have urged impeachment over the strike, which was conducted without congressional approval. Turrentine, in a post on X, urged his fellow Democrats to refrain from impeachment rhetoric and instead focus on the operation’s objectives. ‘Why can’t our Party just say it’s great we achieved the objective and destroyed Iran’s nuclear sites, god bless the soldiers who carried this out and made it home safely,’ he wrote.
Turrentine also criticized Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for only issuing a brief media statement, while several Democrats were already speaking out. He further suggested that impeachment calls were a betrayal of the party’s long-standing principles, particularly its stance on preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. ‘For so many in my Party to knee-jerk with unhinged calls for impeachment, and sadly omit in their statement support for Iran not having nuclear weapons, which has been a principle of our Party for 40 years, is truly TDS,’ he noted.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for the enforcement of the War Powers Act in a statement, arguing that no president should be allowed to unilaterally initiate a war without congressional oversight. However, Turrentine’s comments have sparked a broader debate within the Democratic Party about the balance between executive power and legislative authority, as well as the role of impeachment in political discourse.