Overview
- Trump told reporters twice on Monday that an unnamed former president said, “I wish I did it,” referring to striking Iran, but he refused to identify the person and said it was not George W. Bush.
- Aides for Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, along with a Bush representative, told multiple outlets there had been no recent conversations with Trump about Iran.
- NBC News, the Associated Press, ABC News and others reported consistent denials from offices of all four living former presidents.
- The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment after the denials were reported.
- Trump repeated the anecdote at a Kennedy Center lunch and later in the Oval Office, describing the unnamed predecessor as someone who likes him, while news organizations treated the claim as uncorroborated.