Just 3 days ago Trump was awfully concerned about the “pallets of cash” sent to Iran a decade ago, but is now going to give them nearly 10x that amount in the middle of a war. Clown show doesn’t begin to describe it.

Beyer is making no sense because he's deliberately creating a false equivalence between two completely different things. His tweet quotes Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's announcement and claims: "Just 3 days ago Trump was awfully concerned about the “pallets of cash” sent to Iran a decade ago, but is now going to give them nearly 10x that amount in the middle of a war." This is partisan spin that ignores the actual policy details Bessent laid out (which Beyer is replying to). - What Trump criticized Obama for in 2016 Obama's administration released $1.7 billion in frozen Iranian assets (plus interest) directly to the Iranian regime. This was a cash settlement for a pre-1979 arms deal the U.S. never delivered after the revolution. It was sent in actual pallets of cash (euros, Swiss francs, etc.) that Iran’s central bank could spend freely. Trump repeatedly slammed it as ransom money that funded terrorism. - What the Trump administration is actually doing now (March 2026) Temporary 30-day sanctions waiver only for ~140 million barrels of Iranian oil already loaded on ships and stranded at sea (mostly bound for China, where it was being hoarded at a steep discount). This oil was already sold by Iran before the latest disruptions. No new Iranian production or sales are allowed. Explicit goal (per Bessent): Flood global markets to lower oil prices and counter Iran's attacks on energy infrastructure and the Strait of Hormuz during Operation Epic Fury (the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran's regime). Bessent said verbatim: “In essence, we will be using the Iranian barrels against Tehran to keep the price down…” Crucially: “Iran will have difficulty accessing any revenue generated and the United States will continue to maintain maximum pressure on Iran and its ability to access the international financial system.” In short: This is not the U.S. giving Iran $10 billion (or any money). It's releasing Iran's own pre-existing inventory onto the market so the world benefits from lower prices, China doesn't get it cheap, and sanctions still block the mullahs from cashing in. It's wartime economic warfare against Iran. Beyer is pretending it's the same as Obama shipping literal cash pallets to Tehran. It's not. One empowered the regime with usable funds. This weakens it by flooding the market while the U.S. is actively fighting it. The hypocrisy claim falls apart the second you read the Treasury statement Beyer quoted. It's classic gotcha politics that falls apart on the facts.

@Python0o @RepDonBeyer Actually Don Breyer is correct. Facts matter and no amount of idiot-splaining will change it. MAGAts will believe whatever they must to stay in the Clown cult.