A Tweet For Everything: Trump Claimed Obama Would Bomb Iran To Help Poll Numbers

Ed Mazza
Updated

A series of old tweets by President Donald Trump are resurfacing as tensions rise between the United States and Iran.

Iran this week shot down a U.S. drone, which Tehran claims was flying over its territory. Washington called it an “unprovoked attack” and said the drone was in international airspace.

While lawmakers from both parties have urged caution, the New York Times reported that Trump authorized retaliatory strikes on Iran that were to take place on Thursday evening, but called them off at the last minute.

The Times said it’s not clear why they were called off or if they could still take place.

Trump this week formally kicked off his reelection campaign amid sagging poll numbers, an ironic coincidence given that his past tweets predicted in 2011 that President Barack Obama would bomb Iran to raise his own ratings and win reelection.

When the 2012 election came and went and Obama didn’t attack Iran, Trump continued to make the same prediction, shifting the reasons to “save face” or “show how tough he is.”

In still other tweets, however, he accused Obama of being weak on Iran and even a “friend” to the nation.

Here are some of them:

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Youths smoke a water pipe in Chabahar, Iran, on May 12, 2015.
Youths smoke a water pipe in Chabahar, Iran, on May 12, 2015.
A woman shops in the old bazaar in Chabahar, Iran, on May 13, 2015.
A woman shops in the old bazaar in Chabahar, Iran, on May 13, 2015.
Vendors sell items on the street in Chabahar, Iran, on May 13, 2015.
Vendors sell items on the street in Chabahar, Iran, on May 13, 2015.
Iranians pray in a mosque in the old main bazaar in Tehran, Iran, on April 26, 2015.
Iranians pray in a mosque in the old main bazaar in Tehran, Iran, on April 26, 2015.
A woman and child ride a camel along the Gulf of Oman coast in Chabahar, Iran, on May 12, 2015.
A woman and child ride a camel along the Gulf of Oman coast in Chabahar, Iran, on May 12, 2015.
Young Iranians dive into Gulf waters in Chabahar, Iran, on May 11, 2015.
Young Iranians dive into Gulf waters in Chabahar, Iran, on May 11, 2015.
A shopkeeper adjusts a bridal costume in Tehran, on Feb. 25, 2012.
A shopkeeper adjusts a bridal costume in Tehran, on Feb. 25, 2012.
Cars drive under a portrait of the late Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran, Iran, on July 7, 2015.
Cars drive under a portrait of the late Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran, Iran, on July 7, 2015.
People read the front pages at a news stand in Tehran, Iran, on July 7, 2015.
People read the front pages at a news stand in Tehran, Iran, on July 7, 2015.
Supporters of Iranian soccer team Esteghlal attend a game at the Azadi stadium in Tehran, Iran, on Dec. 9, 2011.
Supporters of Iranian soccer team Esteghlal attend a game at the Azadi stadium in Tehran, Iran, on Dec. 9, 2011.
A mother and child engage in a snowball fight in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 21, 2012.
A mother and child engage in a snowball fight in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 21, 2012.
Women build a snowman in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 21, 2012.
Women build a snowman in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 21, 2012.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.