The takes get more and more bizarre…
MSNBC political analyst and former Obama official Richard Stengel stirred controversy Thursday by questioning America’s alliance with Israel over Iran, calling Iran “the most Western nation” in the Middle East.
Appearing on MSNBC, Stengel downplayed Tehran’s anti-American rhetoric, noting, “They chant ‘death to America,'” but they also “love American movies.”
He went further: “Why is it a foundational issue for Trump that Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapon? Why are we allied with Israel?” asked Stengel, who once served as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy under President Obama.
But discarding the “death to America” chants? Really? Stengel recalled a 2014 trip to Iran.
“I was sitting … at a rally,” he said. “These young guys were chanting ‘death to America.’ … They finished the chants. And two young men came over and said, ‘Are you American?’ I said yes, [and they said,] ‘We want to welcome you to our country. We love American culture. We love American movies.'”
“Iran is the most Western nation in the whole Middle East,” Stengel went on. “We have much more in common with them than a lot of countries that we do have alliances with.”
Watch the clip below:
MSNBC Analyst, a Former Obama Official, Calls Iran 'Most Western Nation' in the Middle East pic.twitter.com/YoTSXhYZwY
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) June 19, 2025
Meanwhile, in Iran, homosexual activity is a criminal offense punishable by death, and women are legally required to wear head coverings in public. But Stengel’s take wasn’t the only bizarre take of the week. The View‘s Whoopi Goldberg also raied eyebrows saying life in Iran is similar to life as a Black American in the U.S.
“Let’s remember the Iranians throw gay people off buildings. They don’t have basic human rights,” Alyssa Farah Griffin said, as she and co-host Sara Haines argued they weren’t going to “defend a terrorist nation,” Iran.
“Let’s not do that, because if we start with that, we have been known in this country to tie gay folks to the car. Listen, I’m sorry, they used to just keep hanging Black people,” Goldberg insisted as Griffin pushed back.
Griffin said, “In the year 2025 in the United States, is nothing like if I step foot wearing this outfit into Iran right now.”
“It is the same,” Goldberg said. “Murdering someone for their difference is not good whoever does it.”
Griffin reiterated her point and repeated that living in the U.S. in 2025 was “very different” than living in Iran.
“Not if you’re Black,” Goldberg insisted and Hostin added, “not for everybody.”
“Nobody wants to diminish the very real problems we have in this country. That’s no one’s intention, but I think it’s important to remember that there are places much darker than this country, and people who deserve rights,” Griffin said.
Goldberg pushed back again and said, “Not everybody feels that way,” before stating Black people effectively weren’t allowed to vote until 1965.
Watch the clip below:
Holy shit, Whoopi Goldberg said it’s not different to live in the US and Iran in 2025. How can you be this clueless? Her co-host, who has Iranian heritage, is trying to point out that women can’t even dress like she is on the show. Gets shouted down: pic.twitter.com/I9keSMQfNb
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) June 18, 2025
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