Chris Van Hollen says Trump 'putting America at risk', vows to 'end the war'

Senator Chris Van Hollen, on Tuesday, joined the list of lawmakers criticizing President Donald Trump for posting an AI-generated picture that appeared to depict him as Jesus Christ. While the President claimed that the post was meant to depict him as a "doctor," and has taken it down, criticism over the image continues to pour in. Van Hollen also called out Republican Senators for not doing anything to stop a President he described as "deranged."

"Now we see the same President who attacked the Pope putting images of himself online as if he's Christ," Van Hollen said in a media interaction. "This is a deranged man. This is a man who should have no connection to being Commander in Chief. It's a man who is putting Americans at risk, people around the world at risk." Taking a dig at his GOP colleagues, the U.S. Senator from Maryland also questioned why only one Senate Republican, Rand Paul, said no to the President's "war of choice."  

Van Hollen, along with several other Democratic senators, has vowed to keep bringing in multiple war powers resolutions to the floor, hoping to convince their GOP colleagues to bring an end to the Iran war. "My top priority is doing everything we can to end the war," Van Hollen told NPR. Calling in an "illegal war", the Maryland Senator said, "We're worse off today than before the war was started."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that if Republicans block their war powers resolution, Democrats "will vote again and again and again until this war ends or Congress does its job and holds the administration accountable." Last week, following President Trump’s threat to end an "entire civilization", House Democrats had unsuccessfully attempted to force a war powers resolution through unanimous consent. President Trump has, meanwhile, indicated that U.S.-Iran talks could happen within the next two days, the New York Post reported after an interview with the President.

Trump praised Pakistan's Field Marshal Gen. Asim Munir for "doing a great job" and said that "something could be happening over the next two days." The President's statement comes amid a U.S blockade around the Strait of Hormuz, intended to pressure Tehran into accepting U.S. terms. The naval blockade that began on Monday has, apart from pushing oil prices above $100 a barrel, strained the U.S.'s relations with European allies. French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are expected to co-chair a conference on Friday to discuss a multinational mission to "restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz."