An updated list of Trump’s most inspiring quotes on the Iran war
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The United States is at war with Iran.
Or, well, technically not, because that would require congressional approval, which it didn’t happen.
And it’s just going to last a few weeksaccording to President Donald Trump. But at the same time, I could continue. forever?
A ground invasion would be waste of timeaccording to the president. But he and his administration Does not rule out boots on the ground.. And oh yeah, they’re pretty sure Americans will die. Because, as the president says, that’s what happens: “When you go to war, some people die.”
AND definitely Don’t worry about the United States doing all this to achieve regime change, because Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has I promised that’s not the case.. Except Trump explicitly said there will be no deal with Iran except “unconditional surrender” with the selection of a new “acceptable” leader.
But the good news is that the United States does not need to worry about retaliation from Iran; probably, Trump assumes. Literally.
Cool!
This is just a sampling of the increasingly disjointed – and downright troubling – things the administration has said about what is clearly a war by any other name. Much has already been said about the inability of American officials to articulate their messages to explain the rationale or objectives of this war, except for an obvious reason.
But as the situation evolves, messages about how they expect things to play out are also starting to take shape. And there is a constant theme that is deeply troubling: Trump simply doesn’t care.
Because if you were looking for reassurance from the leader of the free world, Trump’s message is not it.
(Photo by Mowj / Middle East Images / News via Getty Images)/(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“Like I said, some people will die.”
― Trump, reflecting on the outcome of his war.
“If they go up, they go up.”
– Trump, on skyrocketing gasoline prices as a result of their expanding conflict.
“When you go to war, some people die.”
– Trump, explaining the result.
“I guess.”
– Trump, when asked if American citizens should be concerned about Iran’s retaliatory attacks on American soil.
“We didn’t have wars. They said, he’s going to start a war. I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars.”
“Cuba is going to fall very soon.”
― Trump, clearly preparing his next big foreign intervention, said this to CNN’s Dana Bash without being asked.
“Forget the next one.”
“The next one will be… Cuba. Special. We could do them all at the same time, but bad things happen.”
– Trump, speaking with Secretary of State Marco Rubio during an unrelated event at the White House.
“It’s very dangerous outside.”
– Trump, addressing the Iranian people after ordering the massive bombing campaign.
He rated the war with Iran a “12 or 15 out of 10.”
– Trump, speaking with CNN. A reminder that American missiles hit a girls’ elementary school in the first salvo of the war, killing 175 people, most of them under 12 years old.
“How do you like the acting? I mean, Venezuela is obvious. This could be even better. How do you like the acting?”
― Trump, speaking to ABC’s Jon Karl, repeatedly described the war as a “performance.”
“We thought it would be about four weeks. It’s always been a four-week process, so no matter how strong it is, it’s a big country, it’s going to take four weeks, or less.”
― Trump, predicting how long the US campaign in Iran will last.
“I don’t want this to drag on too long.”
“It won’t be difficult.”
― Trump, reflecting on regime change in Iran in an interview with The New York Times.
“This is not the so-called war of regime change.”
– Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth addressing the media Monday after the war began.
“We want to go in and clean everything up.”
He accused the media of reporting on the deaths of American troops “to make the president look bad.”
― Hegseth complained that “fake news” should stop reporting dead troops because “the press just wants to make the president look bad.”
“The president’s sentiment is based on facts.”
― White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt tries to explain Trump’s motives for war.