U.S. President Donald Trump in a video released on Saturday, February 28, 2026. Truth Social/Handout via REUTERS
During the February 28/March 1 weekend, nerves soared in the Middle East when U.S. President Donald Trump launched a series of missile strikes against Iran and Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei — the fundamentalist Shiite cleric who had run the country since 1989 — was killed. Iran quickly retaliated with strikes aimed at U.S. military installations in the Middle East, and forces in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, and other countries intercepted Iranian missiles. Meanwhile, Israel launched retaliatory strikes against the Iran-supported Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
Trump monitored Iran strikes from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. And MS NOW's Steve Benen, in a biting March 2 column, criticizes Trump for launching a serious military operation in an unserious way.
"While the president's decision to launch another preemptive attack in the Middle East was indefensible for a great many reasons," Benen argues, "the way that he conducted himself over the weekend made the crisis even worse. Indeed, Trump is the only modern American president to start a war while failing to treat the circumstances with the kind of sobriety and solemnity Americans have come to expect from national leaders…. One might have expected a statement from the Oval Office, but Trump instead launched a war from his glorified country club in Florida, apparently preferring Mar-a-Lago to the White House Situation Room."
Benen adds, "As Saturday, (February 28) came to an end, the president capped the day by attending a glitzy fundraising dinner at his club, hosted by a super PAC aligned with his political operation."
The "Rachel Maddow Show" producer notes that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago as "more important than ever" but didn't explain why.
Benen writes, "Trump even struggled to communicate news about the deaths of U.S. service members in ways that reflected presidential maturity…. Those looking for a leader whose actions were 'in keeping with presidential custom' had to look elsewhere."
