A top Democratic Party insider and longtime Clinton advisor suddenly broke with the party — and has jumped on-board President Donald Trump’s team.
Dan Turrentine, who worked under Hillary Clinton when she was a New York senator and former Colorado Governor Jared Polis when he was in the House of Representatives, blasted members of his own party for calling to impeach Trump over Saturday’s military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Turrentine said Sunday that Democrats support of Iran proves they have “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and they should support the successful mission rather than rush to impeachment.
“It was too depressing to write this last night, after we got off air, so I went to bed. But, it needs to be said by more Democrats: this was not an impeachable offense, and Trump did not need congressional approval for one precision attack under the circumstances, just as Obama did not when striking Bin Laden,” Turrentine wrote on X.
Trump launched “Operation: Midnight Hammer” on Saturday night, striking three of Iran’s key nuclear facilities. Many Democrats rushed to support the Islamic dictatorship, calling the strike “unconstitutional” and suggesting Trump could be impeached for hitting the key targets without congressional authority.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., was among the Democratic leadership calling for impeachment.
“The President’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers,” the New York Democrat said Saturday. “He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations. It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”
Republicans quickly fired back at Ocasio-Cortez’s defense of Iran.
“Shut up you pathetic little hypocrite. YOU fully supported our military and IC running the proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. And you VOTED to fund the Ukraine war under your President with dementia. You don’t get to play anti-war and moral outrage anymore,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-G.A., said on X.
Rep. Mike Lawler pointed out on Fox News that Democrats did not call for impeachment when former President Barack Obama attacked Libya, Syria, Pakistan, and Yemen during his tenure.
“For my colleagues that are now demanding impeachment, it’s absolutely absurd … these folks are truly reaching new levels of Trump derangement in the aftermath of yesterday’s decision,” Lawler said.
Turrentine said that sane Democrats should celebrate the mission’s success rather than focus on impeachment.
“Why can’t our Party just say it’s great we achieved the objective and destroyed Iran’s nuclear sites, God bless the soldiers who carried this out and made it home safely, God bless our country, military, allies, and we look forward to a full intel briefing?” he wrote.
“But, for so many in my Party to knee jerk with unhinged calls for impeachment — and sadly omit in their statement support for Iran not having nuclear weapons, which has been a principle of our Party for 40 years — is truly TDS,” Turrentine wrote.
Turrentine’s criticism comes as polling shows significant dissatisfaction within the Democratic Party. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, about 62% of Democrats believe the party needs new leaders, while 24% disagree and the remainder are unsure or did not respond.
During an appearance on “Hannity,” Turrentine said Democrats need to reconsider everything if they want to win elections again.
“I think there are moderates, but to this last point, the moderates have to have the kahunas to take on the base of our party, right? I think some of that is pizzazz, some of that is strength,” he said.
Only 19% of likely voters in swing districts approve of how the Democratic Party has handled illegal immigration, giving them a 58-point net negative rating according to recent polling.
“First, Democrats said it didn’t, that they couldn’t solve the problem. And now you have a bunch of them in our base saying we shouldn’t solve the problem, right?” Turrentine said.
“We should let all these people go. And so winning campaigns focus on the real lives of real people, right? It’s what powered Donald Trump’s rise. You know, ending the forever wars, redoing trade deals, obviously immigration, his economic reforms,” Turrentine said.
“He was speaking to people when a lot of folks thought ‘Hey, that’s not very popular.’ Tell me an issue where Democrats are speaking to people and saying we have a set of solutions that’ll address your problems.”
Sen. James Lankford predicted that Democrats will pursue the impeachment of Trump for a third time if they regain control of Congress after the 2026 midterm elections.
“If Democrats get control of Congress, we are most certainly headed towards impeachment again. That has been the playbook that they’ve played twice on President Trump. So, certainly, if they get control of Congress in this next election, they will work towards impeachment. That’s their favorite play to be able to do,” Lankford said during an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”
It was too depressing to write this last night, after we got off air, so I went to bed. But, it needs to be said by more Democrats: this was not an impeachable offense, and Trump did not need congressional approval for one precision attack under the circumstances, just as Obama…
— dan turrentine (@danturrentine) June 22, 2025