Fox News claims to show proof of Donald Trump's purported opposition to Iraq War

One of the most remarkable things about the 2016 election is that the presidential nominees of both major parties, plus the Libertarian and Green candidates, think it was a big mistake for President George W. Bush to have invaded Iraq in 2003. This despite the fact that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton voted in 2002 to authorize Bush to invade if Saddam Hussein did not comply with demands, as did Republican vice presidential nominee Gov. Mike Pence, then a congressman. (Clinton has called her vote a mistake; Pence apparently has not, and Trump doesn't care.) Donald Trump says he was always against the war, despite fact-checkers calling that an outright lie, and he doubled down during Monday's debate.

Trump shrugged off a 2002 comment he made on the radio when Howard Stern asked if he was in favor of invading Iraq — "Yeah, I guess so. You know, I wish the first time it was done correctly." — then said: "I then did an interview with Neil Cavuto. We talked about the economy as more important. I then spoke to Sean Hannity, which — everyone refuses to call Sean Hannity. I had numerous conversation with Sean Hannity at Fox. And Sean Hannity said, and he called me the other day. And I spoke to him about it. He said you were totally against the war, because he was for the war."

Hannity, an avid Trump supporter and informal adviser, did back Trump up about these private conversations after the debate, and on Tuesday, Fox News reposted the Cavuto clip, under the headline: "2003 clip backs up Trump on Iraq War opposition."

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The interview, two months before Bush invaded, is classic Trump, with references to poll numbers and Gen. Douglas MacArthur. "They're getting a little bit tired of hearing 'We're going in, we're not going in,'" Trump said of the public. "You know, whatever happened to the days of Douglas MacArthur? I mean, he'd go and attack, he wouldn't talk. It's sort to, like, either do it or don't do it." Bush "has either gotta do something or not do something," Trump added. "Because perhaps he shouldn't be doing it yet. And perhaps we should be waiting for the United Nations."

Debate moderator Lester Holt tried to prove that Trump backed the Iraq War, Fox News says, but "history backs The Donald." Except that Cavuto himself disagreed with that assessment in February 2016, the fact-checkers already accounted for that clip when they awarded Trump's anti-war claim "false" and "4 Pinocchios" ratings, and even Fox News elder statesman Brit Hume isn't buying it.

Is it possible that Trump and Hannity had late-night fights over the Iraq War in 2002? Sure, but if Trump publicly opposed the Iraq War — and you can read his known public statements at The Washington Post — or was among the hundreds of thousands of people marching against the invasion in the streets of New York, there's still no record of it.