President Biden said in 2020 that then-President Trump did not have the 'authority' to launch a strike in Iran
Joint US-UK air strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen
Fox News senior national correspondent Rich Edson has the latest on the attacks on Special Report.
President Biden is coming under fire from conservatives for posts he posted as a presidential candidate in 2020, when he condemned then-President Trump for bombing Iran without congressional approval in light of Thursday’s bombing of Yemen by the Biden administration.
"Let's be clear: Donald Trump does not have the authority to take us into war with Iran without Congressional approval," Biden posted in January 2020 after Trump launched a strike that killed the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, Qassem Soleimani.
"A president should never take this nation to war without the informed consent of the American people," Biden added.
"As President, I will use military power responsibly and as a last resort. We will not go back to forever wars in the Middle East," Biden posted in February 2020 with the hashtag "#DemDebate."
President Biden during a news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
On Thursday, the Biden administration announced it launched missile strikes in Yemen in response to attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels on ships in the Red Sea. That action, in addition to sparking outrage within the progressive left, prompted conservatives to bring up Biden’s previous posts on social media.
"It’s (D)ifferent when Biden does it," conservative commentator Benny Johnson posted on X.
"This aged well," GOP Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna posted on X.
":) when you’re a democrat they let you do it," Washington Free Beacon reporter Joe Simonson posted on X.
YEMEN'S IRANIAN-BACKED HOUTHIS LAUNCH LARGEST RED SEA DRONE AND MISSILE ATTACK TO DATE
President Biden speaks in Bethesda, Maryland, on Thursday, Dec. 14 2023. (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"Welp…," combat veteran and author Sean Parnell posted on X.
Several conservatives also pointed out that the Biden administration lifted the terrorist designation for the Houthis in Yemen less than a month after Biden took office in 2021. Omri Ceren, who serves as a national security adviser to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, posted on X, "They knew they were doing bad things for bad reasons so they lied to the public and reporters about their decision. As the Houthis escalated, they couldn't respond. They're still doing it."
Some Democrats took issue with Biden’s post as well, including Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib and progressive activist Nina Turner, who posted on X saying, "Tonight, @JoeBiden dropped bombs on Yemen without Congressional approval."
"[Biden] is violating Article I of the Constitution by carrying out airstrikes in Yemen without congressional approval. The American people are tired of endless war," Tlaib posted.
Members of the Yemeni coast guard, affiliated with the Houthi group, patrol the sea as demonstrators march through the Red Sea port city of Hodeida in solidarity with the people of Gaza on Jan. 4, 2024 amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the militant Hamas group in Gaza. (AFP via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
President Biden said he had authorized the strikes "in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea—including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history."
These Houthi attacks, Biden said, have endangered U.S. personnel and its allies and have threatened freedom of navigation.
"These targeted strikes are a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to imperil freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most critical commercial routes," the president said.
"I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary."
Fox News Digital's Bradford Betz contributed to this report
Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to
