After Donald Trump escalated his threats against Iran Tuesday by warning that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” Republicans in Congress still came to his defense. Despite the fact that many of Trump’s former allies, as well as Democrats, think that he could be alluding to nuclear war or genocide, Republicans like Representative Jodey Arrington are saying, “Thank God we have a commander in chief that is not full of empty rhetoric, because we’ve delayed this inevitability for 50 years.”“We’d have another North Korea, save and except for President Trump, who is a man with a bias for action, and a man who presented with the facts that we have imminent threats, today and for our children’s future, is going to act even if it’s against his personal political interests. Thank God for President Trump and for the courage and political will to do what he’s doing,” the Texas representative told Fox Business only minutes after Trump made his genocidal threat. Rep. Jodey Arrington on Iran: "Thank God we have a commander in chief that is not full of empty rhetoric, because we've delayed this inevitability for 50 years ... President Trump is a man with a bias for action. Thank God for President Trump and the courage and political will to… pic.twitter.com/r81jyDUHr9— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 7, 2026Representative Mike Lawler tried to claim on CNN that Trump wasn’t “really talking about ending a civilization.” “He is talking about the energy and civilian infrastructure, that’s what he’s talking about,” Lawler said to CNN’s John Berman, who emphasized that Trump’s message stated “never to be brought back again.” “He just means the bridges and the infrastructure?” Berman asked. Lawler paused and blinked for a few seconds, before trying to claim that “we’re talking about taking decisive action against Iran’s energy and civilian infrastructure. That is what the president is talking about. He’s not talking about obliterating innocent people.” BERMAN: The president is threatening a whole civilization will die tonight. You say he doesn't want to do it. Does being reluctant to end a civilization make it ok?LAWLER: I don't think we're talking about ending a civilization--BERMAN: So you don't believe the president's… pic.twitter.com/0Z93e9vBPk— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 7, 2026Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson have not commented as of this writing on Trump’s threat of apocalyptic violence, either to reporters or on their social media accounts. As Trump’s arbitrary 8 p.m. EST deadline approaches, and a U.N. Security Council resolution to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was vetoed, is there any chance of a sensible solution?