Buttigieg: "No evidence that [killing Soleimani] made our country safer"
Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Mayor Pete Buttigieg both stated they would have handled the drone strike on Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani differently than President Trump.
The big picture: Trump is likely to parade the killing of Soleimani as one of his signature national security accomplishments in the 2020 campaign. ABC News' David Muir pointed out previous administrations knew of Soleimani's threat but never ordered a strike.
What Buttigieg is saying:
"In the situation that we saw with President Trump's decision, there is no evidence that [killing Soleimani] made our country safer."
What Sanders is saying:
"You're opening the door to international anarchy. What we have got to do, which Trump does not understand, is strengthen the State Department in our diplomatic capabilities, not just the military. ... Let us sit down and work out our differences through debate and discussion at the U.N., not through war and more war and expenditures of trillions of dollars and the loss of god knows how many lives."
Worth noting: Sanders also named some of the "very bad leaders" whom Trump has worked with: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders commented on President Trump's decision to strike Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani, though neither say they would or wouldn't have taken the same action.