Washington, D.C., USA – President Donald Trump on Friday dismissed the ongoing conflict with Iran as “small potatoes” and defended Vice President JD Vance’s assertion that the months of on-and-off attacks in West Asia do not constitute a “war.” Asked about Vance’s comments, Trump noted that U.S. strikes on Iran are now “intermittent” and appeared to downplay the intensity of a conflict that has cost U.S. taxpayers over $37.5 billion and left 18 service members dead. “I call it a military conflict because it’s small potatoes for us. It’s not a big thing,” Trump said.
Vance had earlier rejected the use of the word “war” during a White House press briefing, stating, “Right now, there is no active shooting.” This came even as Iran fired at U.S. Gulf ally Kuwait in retaliation for U.S. strikes. Trump added that the U.S. death toll in the Iran conflict is relatively lower than in some other recent U.S. wars, comparing it to Vietnam, where 58,220 U.S. service members died. “We lost 18 people. And, in Vietnam we lost 100,000 people. And in other conflicts, we lost tens of thousands of people,” he said.
Pressed on describing the conflict as “small potatoes” when 18 service members have been killed, Trump reiterated that the conflict has defanged Iran’s nuclear program. “Iran will not have a nuclear weapon because if they did you probably wouldn’t be standing here,” he said. The remarks come as the conflict, which began on February 28, continues to simmer, with U.S. and Israel conducting air strikes but not deploying ground troops into Iran. The comments are likely to fuel debate as the U.S. approaches its November midterm elections.
