‘Treasonous scum’: Trump attacks media over Iran war coverage
Nobody wants to see the United States fail. Nobody wants American service members put in greater danger. Nobody wants our military unprepared to respond to another threat. But that does not mean Americans have to pretend this war is going according to plan.
President Donald Trump downplayed the significance of the ongoing conflict in Iran, referring to it as "small potatoes" during an Oval Office discussion on September 4, 2026. He defended Vice President JD Vance's statement that the intermittent attacks between the U.S. and Iran do not constitute a "war." Trump acknowledged that the U.S. has incurred a cost of over $37.5 billion and lost 18 service members, but downplayed the intensity of the situation, calling it a "military conflict."
Vance, during a press briefing on Thursday, rejected the term "war" and stated that there has been no active shooting, emphasizing that the conflict has been ongoing for six months with no resolution by the November midterm elections. Trump further downplayed the impact of the conflict compared to other U.S. wars, noting that the U.S. has lost fewer lives in the Iran conflict than in Venezuela and Vietnam, and has not deployed troops into Iran.
Written by urgent.news from Associated Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- Trump calls Iran conflict ‘small potatoes’ and says he agrees with Vance that it’s not a ‘war’ apnews.com
- Trump says US may hit Iran's Pickaxe Mountain soon al-monitor.com
- Trump warns Iran: We may hit Pickaxe very soon israelnationalnews.com
- Trump says US may hit Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain ‘soon’ middleeasteye.net
- Trump says US may hit Iran's Pickaxe Mountain soon jpost.com
- Trump wants to stop the fighting. Iran has trouble knowing when to quit haaretz.com
- Trump hints at possible US strike on Iran’s Jabal Al-Fas nuclear facility english.ajel.sa
- WATCH: Trump calls Iran war 'small potatoes' and 'very intermittent' pbs.org
