Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Nov 1: Indian American Congressman Ro Khanna has hit back at US President Donald Trump after the latter repeatedly attacked him on Friday over his criticism of the cost of the war with Iran, calling him a “lightweight” at the White House and a “total dope” at a campaign rally in Florida.
Speaking in the Oval Office on October 30, Trump said Khanna was a “lightweight” for criticising the amount of money being spent on the conflict.
“I watch this guy, Ro Khanna, who’s a lightweight. And he was saying that, ‘President Trump is spending a lot of money.’ Well, I spent a lot of money in order to get rid of a nuclear weapon, which we’ve done,” Trump said.
He further claimed that the money spent in Iran had been more than recovered through US actions in Venezuela.
“But any money we’ve spent in Iran, we’ve more than made up for with what we did in Venezuela, taken in hundreds of billions of dollars, many, many times,” Trump said.
Later in the day, addressing a midterm election rally in Daytona, Florida, Trump again targeted the California Democrat.
“I watch this total dope, Ro Khanna,” Trump said, according to HuffPost, while complaining that Fox News was giving Democrats more airtime than Republicans.
“I’m working my ass off, I’m doing rallies -- and I come back and I watch the opponent of the person I did the rally for. I’m not happy. But I watched Ro Khanna, of course, on Fox this morning. I can’t watch him,” Trump said.
Trump also described Khanna as a “radical left loser” over his calls for impeachment.
Responding on X, Khanna thanked Trump for mentioning him repeatedly and said he would appear on Fox News on Sunday to discuss the administration's handling of the Iran conflict.
“Thanks for the 4 shoutouts today, Mr. President. I’ll be on Fox this Sunday to share more of my thoughts on your failure in Iran and how it’s raised gas and food prices,” Khanna wrote.
“If you get a break from bragging about oil company profits and playing golf, tune in!” he added. He did not specify which Fox programme he would appear on.
In an earlier post, Khanna said Trump had criticised former president George W. Bush for spending trillions of dollars in the Middle East but was now attacking him for opposing the reported expenditure on Iran.
“Trump said Bush ‘didn’t seem smart’ for spending trillions in the Middle East. Now he calls me a ‘lightweight’ for opposing $47B in Iran,” Khanna wrote.
“Spend that money on jobs and childcare for Americans. His voters wanted him to stay out of war. He lied. Result: Blue Tsunami Tuesday,” he added.
The $47 billion figure was cited by Khanna. HuffPost described it as the estimated cost of the war.
Khanna had appeared on Fox News' ‘Fox & Friends’ hours before Trump's remarks, criticising the Iran war and raising the possibility of impeachment proceedings.
Representing California's 17th Congressional District in Silicon Valley, Khanna is among the most prominent Indian American members of Congress and a frequent critic of the Trump administration's foreign policy.
Americans are scheduled to vote in the midterm elections on Tuesday, November 3.