In the aftermath of the October 7th massacre in Israel — as Israel took immediate steps to eliminate the threat from the Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists who carried out the unprovoked attacks — Kamala Harris previewed how she might handle negotiations if Iran chose to broaden the scope of the conflict and strike Israel directly.
Harris sat down with ABC News anchor Bill Whitaker on October 29, 2023 — just three weeks after the deadly attacks — and he asked her to clarify what her message to Iran might be.
“Don’t,” she said, echoing President Joe Biden’s one-word response to the same question.
“As President Biden said, just, ‘Don’t’?” Whitaker pressed again.
“Exactly. One word. Pretty straightforward,” she replied.
“What’s the message to Iran?”
KAMALA HARRIS: “Don’t” pic.twitter.com/3yvDm1zAtr
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 29, 2023
But on Tuesday, Iran did. The White House promised hours ahead of the attack, during which Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel, to deliver a stern response: “We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack. A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran.”
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However, in the aftermath of the attack, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was unwilling to commit even to saying that the White House was in support of Israel taking action to retaliate.
“What is the U.S. view on whether Israel should retaliate?”
JAKE SULLIVAN: I’m not going to get ahead of anything… pic.twitter.com/UejYB2VZ05
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 1, 2024
In addition to being a carbon copy of President Biden’s policy on the matter, Harris’ one-word attempt at warning Iran was reminiscent of a message former President Barack Obama sent to Syria’s Bashar al Assad in 2012. Obama told Assad that the use of chemical weapons was a “red line” that would provoke an American military response. But when Assad crossed that “red line” a year later, Obama failed to make good on the threat.
The Biden-Harris administration also used the word “don’t” in an attempt to deter Russian dictator Vladimir Putin from resorting to a nuclear strike.
