| MAGA loyalist Jim Desmond is digging in his heels to support Donald Trump’s wildly unpopular war in Iran as Southern Californians continue to pay record-high prices at the pump.
At the start of the war, Desmond callously dismissed those costs on Southern Californians as “no pain, no gain.” Six months later, Desmond is doubling down hard on his stance in a rare new interview.
JOEY SAFCHIK, NBC7 SAN DIEGO: “We have repeatedly invited Supervisor Jim Desmond on… both during the primary election and this general. That has yet to happen.”
JIM DESMOND: “No pain, no gain, so it’s unfortunate that oil prices are going up but… President Trump is right.”
SAFCHIK: “That’s Jim Desmond in March…we caught up with him 6 months later as the war in Iran persists and gas prices reached a record Labor Day high. I asked if his position [on the war] had changed over the past few months.”
DESMOND: “No…Wars are messy.”
SAFCHIK: “…Ostensible objectives for the war…have not been achieved.”
DESMOND: “Well I’m not sure that they’ve been fully achieved or not…going in, I think the reasoning was good. But unfortunately, wars are messy.”
SAFCHIK: “What about the families on the USS Lincoln when they hear you say ‘no pain, no gain? What do you say to that?”
DESMOND: “That’s being misconstrued and taken out of context, I mean, it’s just a political clip. And I feel sorry for them, but…”
SAFCHIK: “President Trump endorsed Desmond…and this race has been getting ample national attention. Democrats see it as a prime pick-up opportunity as they strive to win back the House.”
Desmond’s comments come as the war’s price tag has hit $45 billion in taxpayer dollars, and a record high of 60% of Americans think that the war was the wrong decision.
DCCC Spokesperson Anna Elsasser:
“While San Diego families and servicemembers are crushed by the costs of this war, Jim Desmond just says ‘wars are messy.’ Southern Californians cannot afford another cruel, out-of-touch representative who refuses to stand up for fear of upsetting Donald Trump and his DC party bosses in charge. Desmond is showing voters just how spineless he really is.”
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