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Senator Chris Van Hollen has officially lost the plot. The Maryland Democrat appeared on CNN this week to accuse President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of potentially committing war crimes over military operations in Iran, specifically referencing an alleged bombing that reportedly killed over 100 Iranian schoolgirls. Van Hollen didn’t just criticize policy—he called for international tribunals and threatened legal consequences for Trump after he leaves office.
“That would be a war crime,” Van Hollen declared when asked about potential strikes on Iran’s power grid. “If the president just goes and targets Iran’s infrastructure, civilian infrastructure, there are very narrow circumstances where a country can target infrastructure for military purposes. But the president has said here is unless you open the Strait of Hormuz, we’re going to blow up all your civilian infrastructure, which is clearly a violation of international law.”
The senator didn’t stop at condemnation. He actively speculated about prosecuting a sitting American president in international courts. “The president should be held accountable in international tribunals or in the United States,” Van Hollen stated, adding that Trump “could still be vulnerable to accountability through the courts and, obviously, international tribunals as well” after leaving office.
Let’s be clear about what’s happening here. Van Hollen isn’t expressing principled opposition to military action. He’s attempting to criminalize American foreign policy and subject U.S. commanders-in-chief to international jurisdiction. This is the same playbook the left has tried before—using international law as a cudgel against American sovereignty, applying standards to the United States that they conveniently ignore when adversaries like Russia, China, or Iran violate them daily.
Van Hollen also demanded an investigation into a U.S. Tomahawk missile strike that allegedly killed Iranian schoolgirls. “We should also have an investigation into exactly what happened,” he insisted, using the tragedy to attack Secretary Hegseth’s efforts to reform restrictive rules of engagement. Those rules, according to Van Hollen, “are designed to uphold international law and prevent civilian harm.” What he doesn’t mention is that those same rules have often tied the hands of American warfighters, prolonging conflicts and putting U.S. troops at greater risk.
The hypocrisy is staggering. Where was Van Hollen’s outrage when drone strikes under the Obama administration killed civilians? Where were the calls for war crimes tribunals when the Biden administration’s chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal resulted in the deaths of 13 American service members and countless Afghan civilians? The selective outrage reveals the game—this isn’t about principle, it’s about politics.
What’s particularly dangerous is Van Hollen’s casual suggestion that American presidents should answer to international tribunals. This undermines the very foundation of American sovereignty. The United States does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court precisely because we refuse to subject our military and political leaders to politically motivated prosecutions by foreign bodies. Van Hollen knows this, yet he invokes international law as if it supersedes the Constitution.
The senator’s timing is also suspect. As the Trump administration pursues aggressive negotiations to end the Iran conflict, Van Hollen chooses this moment to accuse the president of war crimes. This isn’t oversight—it’s sabotage. It’s undermining American leverage at the negotiating table and giving comfort to our adversaries. The Iranians don’t need propaganda when American senators are willing to do the work for them.
Van Hollen’s rhetoric also ignores the fundamental reality of warfare. When a terrorist regime like Iran embeds military assets in civilian areas, uses human shields, and targets innocent populations, difficult choices must be made. Israel has faced this reality for decades. Now America is confronting it too. The alternative to decisive action isn’t peace—it’s allowing Iran to continue destabilizing the region, developing nuclear weapons, and threatening American interests.
The bottom line is this: Chris Van Hollen and his Democratic colleagues have abandoned serious foreign policy discourse in favor of performative outrage. Accusing the president of war crimes isn’t statesmanship—it’s political theater designed to energize a base that has convinced itself Trump is a fascist dictator. But words have consequences, and suggesting that American military operations are criminal acts undermines our troops, emboldens our enemies, and weakens our position in the world.
When the history of this period is written, it won’t be Trump facing judgment for defending American interests. It will be politicians like Van Hollen who prioritized partisan attacks over national security, who were so consumed by hatred for a president that they were willing to side with international critics against their own country.
Providence watches over the defenders.
via Breitbart
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