AOC says Trump is willing to ‘risk world war’ by using Iran attack as Epstein files distraction

Progressive Democrat accuses President Donald Trump of ‘impulsively’ launching military action overseas with no exit plan NewsWorldAmericasUS politicsAOC says Trump is willing to ‘risk world war’ by using Iran attack as Epstein files distractionProgressive Democrat accuses President Donald Trump of ‘impulsively’ launching military action overseas with no exit planJoe Sommerlad Thursday 05 March 2026 18:15 GMTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popoverRelated: Bill Clinton reveals what Donald Trump told him about Jeffrey EpsteinYour support helps us to tell the storyRead moreSupport NowFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreNew York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has slammed President Donald Trump over the joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, accusing him of “risking world war” to distract from the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein scandal.Trump launched the assault in the Middle East at the weekend but is already facing backlash in the U.S., having campaigned on a platform of ‘no more wars’. “He impulsively went in on Venezuela. He impulsively went in on Iran. There was no exit and no endgame for either of these situations. It led to increased global instability everywhere he goes,” AOC told MeidasTouch in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.“And every time he’s done that, it has been consistent with a spike or a revelation in what is happening with the Epstein files. I don’t think that that coincidence is something to dismiss off the cuff. I think that he feels existentially tied to it.”open image in galleryNew York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has accused President Donald Trump of using the conflict with Iran to distract from the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein scandal (Getty)She continued: “And I actually think that it is one reason that he must be removed from office, because… if the Epstein files have such a hold on President Trump and this administration that they are willing to plunge us and risk world war in order to save themselves politically, that is… the definition of someone that cannot make objective decisions for the American people.”Trump has not been formally accused of any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. But, he has faced persistent questions about their past friendship, with the pair having known each other in the 1990s and early 2000s until, according to the president, they had a bitter falling out.His administration has been criticized over the Department of Justice’s handling of the release of its investigative materials on the deceased pedophile in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was passed by Congress in November. Survivors of Epstein’s sexual abuse have complained about the redactions made to the files and the chaotic nature of their publication in three tranches across late December and January.open image in galleryRep. Thomas Massie insisted Trump’s decision to greenlight the airstrikes on Iran ‘won’t make the Epstein files go away’ (Getty)Ocasio-Cortez is not the first lawmaker to accuse the president of launching a fresh conflict in the Middle East to distract from Epstein.Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who spearheaded the passage of the Act last year, posted on X Sunday afternoon: “PSA: Bombing a country on the other side of the globe won’t make the Epstein files go away, any more than the Dow going above 50,000 will.”Prior to that, former GOP congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who fell out with Trump last year, issued a lengthy attack on him Saturday in a similar vein.“For years we demanded to release the Epstein files, demanding transparency and justice for thousands of victims, women and children, by the richest most powerful men in the world and we had to fight Trump himself to do it, even after we all campaigned on it,” she said. “And not a single person has been arrested and likely won’t be, no accountability, no justice. Instead, we get a war with Iran on behalf of Israel that will succeed in regime change in Iran. Another foreign war for foreign people for foreign regime change. For what?”That evening, on Saturday Night Live, James Austin Johnson, parodying the president’s Truth Social video in which he first announced Operation Epic Fury, declared: “War, what is it g