'How about Barron?’ Lawrence O’Donnell rips Trump for saying warzone ships should ‘show some guts’

WASHINGTON, DC: Lawrence O'Donnell strongly criticized President Donald Trump on his recent show, saying the president made "nonsensical" comments about the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran.

He criticized Trump for telling oil tankers to "have some guts" and sail through the Strait of Hormuz, and questioned whether the president would tell his own 19-year-old son, Barron Trump, to do the same.

Lawrence O’Donnell uses Barron Trump as bait

His criticism comes as Trump’s approach to the Iran conflict continues to draw strong reactions in political and media circles.

“Donald Trump wants the non-combatants on commercial vessels to do something that no one in the Trump clan has ever done: enter a war zone, show some guts,” O’Donnell said during his Monday segment of 'The Last Word'.

“How about 19-year-old Barron Trump, who is turning 20 in 11 days?” O’Donnell continued, noting that the sons of former presidents have walked the frontlines of war while their fathers occupied the Oval Office.

“As I reported on this program last week, all four of President Franklin D Roosevelt’s sons served in the military in World War II while their father served as commander-in-chief until his death in office weeks before Germany’s unconditional surrender,” O’Donnell said.

“It was unthinkable then for a president’s son,” he quipped. 

Lawrence O’Donnell calls out Trump

Lawrence O’Donnell called out Trump after the president urged oil tankers to travel through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping chokepoint that flows through the borders of Iran and Oman.

“These ships should go through the Strait of Hormuz and show some guts, there’s nothing to be afraid of,” Trump reportedly told 'Fox and Friends' personality Brian Kilmeade, seemingly dismissing dangers of the ongoing US-Israel-Iran conflict, which he claimed is “pretty much” over.

“They have no Navy, we sunk all their ships,” Trump said. 

O’Donnell added that Trump’s remarks completely dismiss and minimize the feelings of the tankers and their loved ones as he urges them to proceed through the strait amid the conflict.

“‘Show some guts … 20 per cent of the world’s oil shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which has now become far too dangerous for safe passage,” O’Donnell said, noting the dangers tankers would face on the trip.

O’Donnell suggested that leaders discussing military operations should focus more on the potential consequences for troops and civilians rather than political messaging.

“Donald Trump wants the captains and crews of those ships to be brave and put themselves in the line of fire, put themselves in harm’s way,” O’Donnell said.

“Just call their families at home around the world and tell them, wish me luck. We are bravely going through the strait today because Donald Trump told us to show some guts,” he added.