Just 17 years ago, when Barack Obama was about to take office, Democrats lost their minds when Rush Limbaugh said, “I hope he fails.” They were outraged that anyone could even appear to root against a president. Back then, they claimed patriotism meant “hoping for success,” even if you disagreed. Funny how principles shift when it’s their political opponent sitting in the Oval Office, isn’t it?
Operation Epic Fury, the joint U.S.-Israeli campaign to destroy Iran’s military machine, entered its fifth day this week. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth briefed the nation from the Pentagon, describing what sounded like a historic rout. “America was winning, decisively, devastatingly, and without mercy,” he said. According to Hegseth, U.S. and Israeli forces were hours away from “complete control of Iranian skies,” with seventeen Iranian naval ships already resting on the seafloor and much of Tehran’s senior leadership wiped out.
AMERICA IS WINNING. @SECWAR: "America is winning decisively devastatingly and without mercy." pic.twitter.com/B2VkX75HHl
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 4, 2026
America was unquestionably winning — and not by accident.
But don’t expect bipartisan applause. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries rushed to the nearest camera to predict the operation would “end in failure.” No evidence, no rationale — just political reflex. In an interview with Fox News, Jeffries dismissed the campaign entirely, repeating the tired talking point that Americans don’t want “another endless war in the Middle East” and accusing the administration of finding “billions of dollars for bombs” but not for “making life more affordable.”
In other words, he’s rooting for failure while U.S. troops are in combat. It’s the rhetorical equivalent of booing your own team from the stands because you want the coach fired. Unfortunately, this isn’t new for the Democratic Party. They’ll criticize the success under a Republican president while excusing the failures of a Democrat president. Democrats still defend Barack Obama’s bombing of Libya even though it was a total disaster.
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You’d think watching Iran’s regime crumble under the weight of American firepower would stir some pride. Instead, Jeffries and his allies are disappointed, projecting failure, hoping that the worst possible outcome comes true because it may help them win the midterms. And Hegseth wasn’t shy about calling it out.
“I’ve been through that movie before, with Democrats rooting against the country,” he said, noting that Jeffries had received classified briefings proving Operation Epic Fury’s effectiveness. “He knew how effective this had been,” Hegseth added, calling Jeffries “disingenuous, which we were used to.” In other words, Democrats aren’t ignorant — they’re invested in failure. And they’d rather see America stumble than allow Trump to succeed.
🚨@SecWar BLASTS @RepJeffries:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 4, 2026
"I've been through that movie before, with Democrats rooting AGAINST the country ... it's pretty unprecedented & unfortunate that it would occur 4 days in.
He knows how effective this has been. He's being disingenuous."pic.twitter.com/sWGeQNbsd6
Iran’s regime spent years bankrolled by the naive diplomacy of the Obama-Biden years, using that time to build the nuclear arsenal now threatening the world. The current campaign aims to end that threat decisively. Yet while our pilots and soldiers put their lives on the line, Democrats play politics from the sidelines, treating battlefield victories like bad polling data.
And the irony of the situation is that 17 years ago, the left demonized Rush Limbaugh for saying that he hoped a radical leftist president’s policies would fail. Today, Democrats hope an entire American military campaign does. The difference? Limbaugh hoped Obama’s agenda would fail so America could succeed. Democrats now hope America fails so they can win an election.
