Washington, Nov 1 (IANS) Indian American Congressman Ro Khanna has hit back at President Donald Trump, who attacked him repeatedly 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: “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.”
“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, at a midterm rally in Daytona, Florida, Trump returned to the Democratic lawmaker from California.
“I watch this total dope, Ro Khanna,” Trump said, according to HuffPost. “Fox puts him on all the time. You know, Fox is giving Democrats more time than they give 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 called Khanna a “radical left loser” over his calls for impeachment.
Khanna responded on X. “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,” he wrote.
“If you get a break from bragging about oil company profits and playing golf, tune in!” he added. He did not say which Fox programme he would appear on.
In an earlier post, Khanna wrote: “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.”
“Spend that money on jobs and childcare for Americans. His voters wanted him to stay out of war. He lied. Result: Blue Tsunami Tuesday,” Khanna wrote.
The $47 billion figure is Khanna’s. HuffPost described it as the estimated cost of the war.
Khanna had appeared on “Fox & Friends” hours before Trump’s remarks, criticising the Iran war and raising possible impeachment proceedings.
Khanna, who represents California’s 17th Congressional District in Silicon Valley, is among the most prominent Indian American members of Congress and a frequent critic of the administration’s foreign policy.
Americans vote in the midterm elections on Tuesday, November 3.
–IANS
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