Posted by Matt Kiser
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/17/day-1883/
Today in one sentence: Trump said NATO “is making a very foolish mistake” by refusing to join the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran; Trump – twice – said that a former president told him he wished he’d been the one to attack Iran, but all four living former presidents denied talking to Trump about Iran; the top U.S. counterterrorism official resigned over the Iran war, saying Iran posed “no imminent threat”; the Senate voted 51-48 to open debate on the House-passed SAVE America Act; and the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Attorney General Pam Bondi to appear for a closed-door deposition over the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and its compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
1/ Trump said NATO “is making a very foolish mistake” by refusing to join the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, while calling it “a great test, because we don’t need them.” He also insisted that “all of the NATO allies agreed with us” on confronting Iran, but that NATO had become “a one-way street” in which “we will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need.” Trump also said he was “not afraid” to put U.S. troops on the ground in Iran, adding: “I’m really not afraid of anything.” (Politico / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / Bloomberg / Reuters / CNBC / Axios / Associated Press)
2/ Trump – twice – said that a former president told him he wished he’d been the one to attack Iran, but all four living former presidents denied talking to Trump about Iran. Representatives for Bush, Clinton, Obama, and Biden said they hadn’t spoken with Trump recently. Nevertheless, Trump first made the claim at a White House meeting with Kennedy Center board members, then repeated it in the Oval Office, saying, “I spoke to one of the former presidents” and that the person told him, “I wish I did what you did.” When asked who it was, Trump ruled out Bush, wouldn’t say whether it was Clinton, and said he didn’t want to identify the person because “I don’t want to get him into trouble.” (NBC News / New York Times / Associated Press / The Hill / The Guardian)
3/ The top U.S. counterterrorism official resigned over the Iran war, saying Iran posed “no imminent threat.” In his resignation letter, Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said: “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” Kent claimed Israel “deployed a misinformation campaign,” which “sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran,” and “was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now.” In response, Trump said Kent was a nice guy, who “was weak on security, very weak on security.” Kent is the first senior Trump administration official to publicly quit over the conflict. (Axios / Wall Street Journal / NPR / Politico / Washington Post / Reuters / CNBC / NBC News / Bloomberg / New York Times / Associated Press)
4/ The Senate voted 51-48 to open debate on the House-passed SAVE America Act, launching what Republicans said could be days of floor speeches on Trump’s “No. 1 priority.” The measure would require proof of citizenship to register and photo ID to vote, but Senate Republicans lack the 60 votes needed to break a Democratic filibuster. Senate Majority Leader John Thune also said that “the votes aren’t there” for the more aggressive talking-filibuster strategy. Democrats called the measure “a naked attempt to rig our elections” and vowed to block it “all day, all night.” (Politico / NBC News / Washington Post / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / CBS News / The Hill)
5/ The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Attorney General Pam Bondi to appear for a closed-door deposition over the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and its compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The move followed a bipartisan committee vote earlier this month, when five Republicans joined Democrats to compel her testimony. Chairman James Comer said the panel has questions about possible mismanagement of the Epstein probe and Bondi’s role in collecting, reviewing, and releasing the files. The Justice Department called the subpoena “completely unnecessary,” and said Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche would brief committee members Wednesday, and didn’t say whether Bondi would comply. (New York Times / Washington Post / Politico / CNN / CNBC)
The 2026 midterms are in 231 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 966 days.
Support today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member
Subscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/17/day-1883/
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bluapapilio
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
