Lately, Donald Trump has claimed, repeatedly and emphatically but without providing any evidence, that he opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq not only after it became clear that it was a mistake, but before it even hapened. But in a 2002 interview with Howard Stern, uncovered by BuzzFeed News, when asked whether he would support an Iraq invasion, Trump said that he would. “Yeah I guess so,” Trump replied. “I wish the first time it was done correctly.”

Trump has never provided any evidence that he was against the war. In fact, he has insisted that, while his opposition was “loud and strong,” reporters did not feel they needed to document his political opinions because he was not a politician at the time. (There is, however, evidence that Trump expressed mild—if confused—skepticism about the war subsequent to the January 2003 invasion.)

The Howard Stern interview was conducted on September 11, 2002. Not only does he advocate for invading Iraq, Trump makes no mention of the “thousands and thousands of people” he now remembers cheering for the towers’ destruction in Jersey City.


Photo via AP Images. Contact the author of this post: brendan.oconnor@gawker.com.