Trump finally admits he wanted to 'surgically' intervene in Libya

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last updated 6 June 2016

Donald Trump has long denied supporting intervention in Libya in 2011, claiming that if Moammar Gadhafi were still in power, the nation would be better off. But as BuzzFeed has reported on multiple occasions, Trump actually pushed for intervention in Libya back in 2011.

Trump finally admitted as much on Sunday, telling CBS's John Dickerson that, "I was for something, but I wasn't for what we have right now."

Trump qualified the terms of his intervention as being "surgical": "You do a surgical shot and you take [Gadhafi] out." Trump added that he was "never for strong intervention."

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Still, some intervention is different than no intervention at all — which Trump swore was his stance back in a February Republican debate.

"[Ted Cruz] said I was in favor of Libya? I never discussed that subject. I was in favor of Libya? We would be so much better off if Gadhafi were in charge right now," Trump claimed at the time. Watch Sunday's interview below. Jeva Lange

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.