Donald Trump made an eyebrow-raising claim on Monday: That he had recently talked to a former president, who told him that they wished they had had a chance to bomb Iran. Trump did not say which president, as there are only four living former presidents, none of whom have a particularly good relationship with the current president. Also, none of them ever expressed enthusiasm for the idea of bombing Iran while they were in office, even if George W. Bush did once name Iran as part of the “Axis of Evil,” following the 9/11 attacks.
NBC News looked into the matter and now has official denials from sources close to Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden.
“An aide for George W. Bush told NBC News that ‘they haven’t been in touch,’ NBC News reported, “while an aide to Bill Clinton told NBC News that whoever Trump was referring to was not Clinton.”
“An Obama aide said ‘no recent conversations’ have taken place between Barack Obama and Trump, and a source familiar with the matter said the former president Trump was referring to was not Joe Biden.”
President Trump said Monday that he spoke to a former president about bombing Iran.
• An aide for George W. Bush says that “they haven’t been in touch.”
• An aide to Bill Clinton says that whoever Trump was referring to was not Clinton.
• An Obama aide says “no recent…
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 17, 2026
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So what happened?
It would appear that either Trump is lying, one of the former presidents is lying, or that Trump is somehow confused. Commentator Jon Lovett had another theory, in light of recent reports that the president’s phone number has recently become freely available among journalists and others in Washington: That Trump may have fallen for a presidential impersonator.
Trump is ALSO rolling calls from random strangers, so a non-zero chance the President of the United States is currently in a catfish situation with AI Bill Clinton https://t.co/YqhFzPTKNQ
— Jon Lovett (@jonlovett) March 16, 2026
Another theory was posited by “Johnny Maga” who is known to be a Trump staffer:
He never said it was a living president. https://t.co/g7yNvq2ABH pic.twitter.com/sWnWUAL8bs
— johnny maga (@johnnymaga) March 17, 2026
Others suggested Trump was talking to himself:
He was talking about the 45th President. https://t.co/f5r624MHnP
— Peccator (@UnionSupremacy) March 17, 2026
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
