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Donald Trump claims US president praised him over Iran conflict - they've been disputed by presidential aides

Home> News> Politics

Updated 16:06 17 Mar 2026 GMTPublished 15:07 17 Mar 2026 GMT

Donald Trump claims US president praised him over Iran conflict - they've been disputed by presidential aides

Representatives of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden have all addressed Trump's controversial endorsement claim

Rhianna Benson

Rhianna Benson

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Without supplying names, Donald Trump this week claimed that one of his presidential predecessors had commended his ongoing assault on Iran.

"He said, 'I wish I did it," the Republican alleged during a press conference on Monday (16 Mar).

Awkwardly, however, every former President still alive to this day has denied ever having such a conversation with Trump.

His comments were made at least three times whilst chatting with various members of the media, seemingly in an attempt to justify the missile launch he made against Iran last month, which triggered a colossal, cross-country conflict that has since cost the lives of thousands across the Middle East.

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Firing the first missile in February, Trump claimed the attack served as the official US-Israeli response to the Islamic Republic's increasingly totalitarian leadership and its oppression of Iranian citizens.

Trump launched the initial missile last month (Contributor/Getty Images)
Trump launched the initial missile last month (Contributor/Getty Images)

He and Israeli leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, also admitted the attack was purposed to ensure that Iran 'does not obtain a nuclear weapon'.

Trump has since argued tirelessly that the assault was necessary, insisting that other American leaders had agreed he was right to push his big red button.

"I’ve spoken to a certain president, who I like, actually," the right-wing leader alleged. "A past president, a former president. He said, 'I wish I did it.'

"But they didn't do it. I'm doing it."

He continued: "For 47 years, no president was willing to do what I’m doing."

Asked to name who'd approved the attack, however, Trump claimed: "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."

All living Presidents have rejected Trump's claims (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
All living Presidents have rejected Trump's claims (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

He also told other reporters: "I don't want to say. I don't want to say... I don't want to get him into trouble. It’s somebody that happens to like me... that person is a smart person.

"But that person said, 'I wish I did it,' okay? But I don’t want to get into who. I don’t want to get him into trouble."

Despite this, representatives of all four living former leaders have outright denied endorsing Trump's military mission, which Iran responded to by firing weapons of their own across Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Cyprus.

A spokesperson for Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the US, told The Independent he hadn't conversed with Trump on the matter of Iran.

Biden's agent denied ever speaking to Trump about Iran (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Biden's agent denied ever speaking to Trump about Iran (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

A representative of Clinton's successor, George W. Bush, also denied the father-of-five's claim.

Such was also the case for the 44th and 46th Presidents, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, whose agents also told CNN and other press they'd never backed Trump's hotly debated attack on Iran.

Tyla contacted the White House for further comment.

Featured Image Credit: Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images

Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Politics, News, Iran, World News

Rhianna Benson
Rhianna Benson

Rhianna is an Entertainment Journalist at LADbible Group, working across LADbible, UNILAD and Tyla. She has a Masters in News Journalism from the University of Salford and a Masters in Ancient History from the University of Edinburgh. She previously worked as a Celebrity Reporter for OK! and New Magazines, and as a TV Writer for Reach PLC.

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