In their own words
“Donald Trump chose to launch this war against Iran. It is not a defensive war. The United States was not invaded by Iran. There is no Iranian army pouring across the American border.”
On the record · Updated October 18, 2026
David Pakman quotes
17 things David Pakman said, verbatim, from July 20, 2026 to October 3, 2026, each linked to where it ran. Grouped by the story each one belongs to.
17stories
17statements
Oct 3latest entry
More on the record
David Pakman on The Middle East2
In their own words
“It's now week 27 of the 2 to 3 week war, and now the administration is rolling out another. This is going to be the decisive round of sanctions, which so far we haven't been able to get anything decisive.”
on new US sanctions during the prolonged Iran war
David Pakman on Economy, jobs & inflation6
In their own words
“So that would cost about one point three trillion dollars. Trump doesn't really say where the money would come from.”
In their own words
“First of all, Trump doesn't have one point three trillion dollars sitting in some account that he can simply distribute.”
In their own words
“The United States has 41 days of crude oil inventory remaining. That is the lowest level in half a century”
on US crude oil inventory levels amid the Iran sanctions debate
In their own words
“Trump inherited inflation below 3%, and it's now above 3%. Trump inherited gas at three bucks a gallon, and now it's above four bucks a gallon.”
In their own words
“The US has lost 75,000 manufacturing jobs since Trump came back to office the second time. The construction of new factories is barely happening.”
on manufacturing job losses and stalled factory construction since Trump's return to office
In their own words
“So if he would have gotten credit, he's got to get the blame as well. The grocery bill is one of the cleanest measures of whether people believe the economy is working or not for them”
on Trump bearing blame for grocery prices as a gauge of economic sentiment
David Pakman on Healthcare & public health1
In their own words
“Once you turn on a movement by seeding a conspiracy theory, it's a lot harder to turn it off.”
on Pennsylvania's measles outbreak and conspiracy theories that fuel it
David Pakman on Tech & AI1
In their own words
“Hey, uh super profitable tech company wants this to make money. Who's going to pay for building out the electricity infrastructure? What will happen to my utility bill?”
on who pays for electricity infrastructure for AI data centers
David Pakman on Campaigns & elections2
In their own words
“They've lost on the economy. They've presented no credible argument for why any of them deserve to be reelected or for Republicans that are running from scratch to be elected for the first time.”
on Republicans lacking a credible economic case for reelection
In their own words
“Here's my suggestion. Let's believe Trump when he tells us what he's planning to do”
on taking Trump's political plans at face value
David Pakman on Democracy & voting rights1
In their own words
“The seat doesn't belong to a family. This seat is being given to her because of her name. We, I thought they were against political dynasties in the United States. Shouldn't this belong to the people of South Carolina?”
David Pakman on The presidency & national symbols2
In their own words
“this fundamentally is about removing obstacles or potential obstacles for Trump doing whatever the hell he wants with the military”
on why Hegseth is overhauling the Pentagon
In their own words
“This is the president explicitly connecting the future of the renovation to whether they let him put his name on it.”
on Trump tying the Kennedy Center renovation to naming it after himself
David Pakman on Free speech & the media2
In their own words
“This post is extraordinarily revealing because Trump makes zero effort to hide what this is really about.”
on a Trump social media post following a court ruling against a press ban
In their own words
“The Trump White House has decided that criticizing the president should come with a price. And the target on independent voices is now bigger than at any point in my career”
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