President Donald Trump defended Vice President JD Vance on Friday, characterizing the ongoing U.S. military engagement with Iran as “small potatoes” and affirming that the intermittent strikes do not constitute a formal war. Speaking during an Oval Office exchange, Trump aligned with remarks made a day earlier by Vance, who rejected the use of the term “war” to describe the six-month-old conflict, pointing to a current lack of active shooting on the ground.
Trump Dismisses Iran Conflict as ‘Small Potatoes’
The remarks from the White House leadership come as the cost of the operations climbs. According to Associated Press reporting, the campaign has cost U.S. taxpayers more than $37.5 billion and resulted in the deaths of 18 U.S. service members since hostilities began on Feb. 28.
Vance Rejects the ‘War’ Label Amid Regional Retaliation
During a White House press briefing on Thursday, Vance declined to predict whether the conflict would conclude before voters head to the polls for the Nov. 3 congressional elections, a period in which Republicans are working to preserve their narrow majorities in Congress.
“I wouldn’t call it a war,” Vance said at the briefing, adding, “Right now, there is no active shooting.”
That assertion coincided with retaliatory action in the region. According to Associated Press coverage, Iran fired upon U.S. Gulf ally Kuwait on Thursday in response to a series of U.S. air strikes carried out earlier in the week. Throughout the engagement, operations have been conducted primarily through air strikes by the U.S. and Israel, with no ground troops deployed into Iran.
Comparing Casualties Against Historical Conflicts
Defending the administration’s framing during Friday’s Oval Office discussion, Trump compared the U.S. casualty figures in Iran to historical conflicts. He noted the January military operation to seize former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro—who was subsequently brought to New York City to face federal drug trafficking charges—resulted in zero U.S. fatalities.
“We did Venezuela and we did this. In Venezuela, we lost nobody,” Trump told reporters, according to the Associated Press. “And this, we lost 18 people. And, in Vietnam we lost 100,000 people. And in other conflicts, we lost tens of thousands of people.”
Data from the U.S. National Archives records 58,220 members of the U.S. armed forces died during the Vietnam War.
Targeting Iran’s Nuclear Capabilities
When pressed by a reporter regarding the characterization of the campaign as “small potatoes” given the loss of 18 service members, Trump pointed to the strategic objective of disabling Iran’s nuclear capabilities. At the start of the conflict, Trump said the campaign would last a matter of weeks.
“Iran will not have a nuclear weapon because if they did you probably wouldn’t be standing here,” Trump said.
