On what was apparently a Friday morning free from official obligations, Trump phoned in to Limbaugh’s talk radio show and spoke for nearly two hours about a wide range of topics, including his administration’s ongoing confrontation with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
“Iran knows that and they’ve been put on notice: if you f**k around with us, if you do something bad to us, we are gonna do things to you that have never been done before,” Trump told Limbaugh.
“If you fuck around with us, if you do something bad to us, we are gonna do things to you that have never been done before.” — the President of the United States pic.twitter.com/RfDKchaw7i
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 9, 2020
Despite ongoing debate about whether or not a “fleeting expletive,” as the Federal Communications Commissions calls it, is protected speech under the First Amendment, Trump’s comment rings similar to another threat he made against the Middle Eastern nation earlier this year.
On January 4, the day after Trump ordered the assassination of Iranian Quds Force commander Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, he issued a further threat against Tehran that “if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD.”
Trump came under wide attack for the comments, with many noting the act of cultural destruction is a war crime and falls under the category of genocidal actions. Even his own pentagon chief, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, blithely responded to the statement by noting that "we will follow the laws of armed conflict."
Earlier this year, Trump gave Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the State of the Union Address, calling the controversial talk show host “a special man beloved by millions of Americans” and “the greatest fighter that you will ever meet.”
