By The California Post Editorial Board
The outpouring of joy on the streets of LA is impossible to ignore.
Thousands of Iranian-Americans lined Wilshire Boulevard on Saturday and Sunday to celebrate the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes that, they hope, will bring down the Iranian regime.
On Westwood Boulevard, in the heart of “Tehrangeles,” there were raucous cheers inside Persian restaurants. Flags hung everywhere — the sterile tulip of the Islamic Republic replaced by the lion-and-sun of the previous era.
The Iranian people, at home and abroad, believe that freedom is at hand, and that President Donald Trump is bringing the redemption for which they have waited for decades.
As local foreign policy analyst Lisa Daftari put it: “Trump and [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu just gave the Iranian people something they haven’t had in decades: OPTIMISM.
“They’re dancing from LA to Melbourne to Tehran not because the regime has fallen, but because they now know it will.”
A few Democrats understood the importance of the moment.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) commented on Operation Epic Fury: “President Trump has been willing to do what’s right and necessary to produce real peace in the region.
“God bless the United States, our great military, and Israel.”
But most Democrats opted for hand-wringing, at best.
If Trump did it, it must be wrong.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said: “The leadership of Iran must go.” So far, so good.
But he added that Trump had launched an “illegal, dangerous war … without justification to the American people.”
How is the Iranian regime supposed to disappear? Especially after it just gunned down many thousands of protesters in the streets?
Newsom had no answer.
Sen. Adam Schiff declared: “The Iranian regime is a brutal and murderous dictatorship. But that does not give Trump the authority to unilaterally initiate a war of choice.” He demanded a congressional vote.
Funny — in 2011, when President Barack Obama launched military action against Libya before consulting Congress, then-Congressman Schiff declared: “I applaud the international community’s decision to stand with the people of Libya in their moment of opportunity and need.”
Rep. Eric Swalwell, who is running for governor, attacked “El Presidente” Dave Portnoy, of Barstool Sports, for supporting Trump on Iran.
“Stick to sports. You’re at least half-right there,” Swalwell posted on X.
“Your whiny-ass ain’t going to an Iran battlefield anytime soon.”
Portnoy responded by reminding Swalwell of his affair with Fang Fang, a Chinese spy.
The anti-war posturing makes Democrats look lame.
This war is well within Trump’s authority as commander-in-chief, as established by presidents of both parties.
Trump has to keep Congress informed, but a surprise attack on an enemy that has been attacking us for years, and remains an imminent threat, is not illegal.
Democrats would rather oppose Trump than confront evil regimes.
In 2020, when Trump took out Iranian terror general Qassem Soleimani, nearly every Democrat condemned him.
The Abraham Accords followed soon afterward.
Reasonable people can disagree about this war. But if you oppose Trump’s policy, provide an alternative.
Otherwise, you just look lame.
Iranians’ joy vs. Democrats’ shame https://t.co/savYuVbXog pic.twitter.com/hQ5tfJOBbH
— NY Post Opinion (@NYPostOpinion) March 3, 2026
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