President Donald Trump boasted that the Middle East is “very lucky” that he is president after the United States and Israel joined forces to launch an ongoing attack on Iran.

The commander in chief made the comment at the Republican Affairs Conference on Monday after noting that the United States “has already won in many ways” in Iran, but not “enough.” a comment that a reporter later asked Trump to clarify.

“What do you consider sufficient? What is your reference point?” the journalist asked Trump, prompting his long, rambling response.

“Where they’re not going to start developing a nuclear weapon the next day,” Trump began. “Where they’re going to look at that guy and other people in the administration and say, ‘Okay, we’re not going to do it.’ They weren’t willing to say that. And when Steve called me and told me that, I said, ‘Well, here we go.’ Let’s do it the hard way.'”

The president was probably referring to Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East.

“But I think the hard way is probably the easy way,” Trump continued. “When I can basically see that they will no longer have any capability over a very long period of time to develop weaponry that could be used against the United States, Israel or any of our allies. We have great allies in the Middle East, great countries that are allies. And they stood by until they were attacked.”

“I think the hard way is probably the easy way,
“I think the hard way is probably the easy way,“ President Donald Trump said while talking about the war against Iran during a press conference at his resort in Doral, Florida, on March 9, 2026.

YouTube.

Trump also claimed that if he didn’t “hit” Iran first, “they would hit our allies first” and that he was “going to take over the Middle East.”

“Now, hadn’t Operation Midnight Hammer taken place? That was final, because they would have had a nuclear weapon in a matter of weeks,” he said. “But that happened. It was a setback. But look at the number of missiles they were able to buy and manufacture in the last six months. And those missiles were aimed at several countries.”

Operation Midnight Hammer was a US military strike on June 22, 2025 that targeted Iranian nuclear facilities.

To conclude his response, Trump appeared to disparage former President Joe Biden by stating that the Middle East was “very lucky” that he is president, “instead of someone else,” amid the conflict with Iran.

“And when you look at the thousand, over a thousand missiles fired at, for example, the United Arab Emirates, they were looking to take over the Middle East,” he added. “We got there first. We’re lucky. I’ll tell you what: The Middle East and those countries, very rich countries, are very lucky that I was president instead of someone else.”

Since the Trump administration and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, the United States, the deadly conflict has sparked widespread reaction even among Trump supporters.

Watch Trump’s press conference below. Skip to the 28:45 mark to hear the President’s remarks.

“,”guy”:”video”,”goal”:{“author”:”the white house”,”author_url”:”https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYxRlFDqcWM4y7FfpiAN3KQ”,”cache_age”:86400,”description”:”Doral, Florida, USA”,”options”:{“_cc_load_policy”:{“label”:”Closed Captions”,”worth”:FAKE},”_end”:{“label”:”Result in”,”placeholder”:”ex.: 11, 1m10s”,”worth”:””},”_begin”:{“label”:”Start from”,”placeholder”:”ex.: 11, 1m10s”,”worth”:”1874″}},”supplier_name”:”YouTube”,”thumbnail_height”:720,”thumbnail_url”:”https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ViW6wZw8Dn8/maxresdefault.jpg”,”thumbnail_width”:1280,”qualification”:”President Trump holds a press conference on March 9, 2026″,”guy”:”video”,”URL”:”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViW6wZw8Dn8″,”version”:”1.0″},”flags”:[],”improvements”:{},”complete bleeding”:FAKE,”options”:{“issue”:”news”,”device”:”office”,”editionInfo”:{“ID”:”us”,”name”:”US”,”link”:”https://www.News themezone.com”,”place”:”y_US”},”Original edition”:”us”,”esMapi”:FAKE,”esAmp”:FAKE,”it’s mobile”:FAKE,”esAdsFree”:FAKE,”enVideoEntry”:FAKE,”enEntry”:TRUE,”also mount”:FAKE,”Entry ID”:”69b07501e4b07e0eaa23b59a”,”entryPermanent link”:”https://www.News themezone.com/entry/trump-middle-east-lucky-hes-president-iran-war_n_69b07501e4b07e0eaa23b59a”,”entryTagsList”:”donald-trump,iran,middle east,@us_News themezone_now”,”sectionSlug”:”policy”,”departmentSlug”:”news-politics”,”sectionRedirectUrl”:null,”subcategories”:”world-news”,”it is wide”:FAKE,”enShopping”:FAKE,”Override header”:null,”no video ads”:FAKE,”disable float”:FAKE,”is native”:FAKE,”commercialVideo”:{“supplier”:”habit”,”site_and_category”:”we.politics”,”package”:null},”enHighline”:FAKE,”vidibleConfigValues”:{“cid”:”60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf”,”cancels”:{“front_page_top_videos”:{“office”:”60b64354b171b7444beaff4d”,”mobile web”:”60b64354b171b7444beaff4d”},”top_media”:{“office”:”60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147″,”mobile”:”60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee”,”iPhone”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”iPad”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”android phone”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”android tablet”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”},”anthology”:{“office”:”60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba”,”mobile”:”60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66″,”iPhone”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”iPad”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”android phone”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”android tablet”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”},”content”:{“office”:”60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba”,”mobile”:”60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66″,”iPhone”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”iPad”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”android phone”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”android tablet”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”}},”playerUpdates”:{“5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6″:”60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443″,”56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8″:”60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81″,”5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f”:”60b8e355cdd90620331ba185″,”58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895″:”60b64316b171b7444beafdb2″,”58b74698f78ced31417819ae”:”60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52″,”58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1″:”60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5″,”58cff690d85a100b9992bc39″:”60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba”,”58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180″:”60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66″,”58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7″:”60b643c82e76be41f112735c”,”592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”5b35266b158f855373e28256″:”60b64354b171b7444beaff4d”,”5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a”:”60b64440b171b7444beb040b”,”5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9″:”60b646102e76be41f1127ffc”,”5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f”:”60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147″,”5c477987a6b48b35f164773d”:”60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee”,”5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371″:”60b8e747cdd90620331bb861″,”5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2″:”60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b”,”5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6″:”60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9″,”58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321″:”60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c”,”58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3″:”60d0dic19340d7032ad115a0″,”58cff8eccebcea42931e0436″:”60d0e005b627221e9d819d44″,”592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b”:”60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf”,”58cff72fd85a100b9992c112″:”60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da”,”56b4d34fe4b022697697c400″:”60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443″,”60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d”:”60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81″}},”connatixConfigValues”:{“default player”:”ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b”,”click to play player”:”d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0″,”video page player”:”f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145″,”vertical player”:”e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065″,”StickyPlayerControl”:”52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da”,”sticky player”:”8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22″,”noAdsPlayer”:”deeeda04-49cb-4a1d-ac6c-c388a685b58e”,”life page player”:”e1d799d2-2d81-4f27-bfa0-e6833a657659″,”noLifePagePlayer”:”6f2f7532-1bdc-4d9d-806b-8109a4010559″,”adLightDesktopPlayer”:”014f5956-89c0-4fda-9201-b1c2b8232be5″,”adLightMobilePlayer”:”b74a8200-8881-451a-b3ae-e3479c486eac”},”topConnatixThumnbai lSrc”:”https://img.connatix.com/2914c853-f4ad-454d-8823-aaed6f67b403/1_th.jpg?crop=629:354,smart&width=629&height=354&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop”,”custom amplifier components”:[],”ampAssetsUrl”:”https://amp.assets.News themezone.com”,”videoTraits”:null,”position in units units”:{“buzz_head”:{“count”:0},”body_buzz”:{“count”:0},”buzz_bottom”:{“count”:0}},”position in subunits”:{“article_body”:{“count”:4},”summary_blog”:{“count”:0},”before_going_happy”:{“count”:0}},”connatixCountsHelper”:{“count”:1},”buzzfeedTracking”:{“context_page_id”:”69b07501e4b07e0eaa23b59a”,”context_page_type”:”buzz”,”destination”:”post”,”mode”:”office”,”page_edit”:”es-us”},”labels”:[{[{“name”:”donald trump”,”slug”:”donald-trump”,”golf course”:{“relative link”:”topic/donald-trump”,”permanent link”:”https://www.News themezone.com/topic/donald-trump”,”mobileWebLink”:”https://www.News themezone.com/topic/donald-trump”},”department”:{“name”:”Latest news”,”slug”:”news-politics”},”section”:{“qualification”:”Policy”,”slug”:”policy”},”issue”:{“qualification”:”donald trump”,”slug”:”donald-trump”,”overrides section tag”:FAKE},”URL”:”https://www.News themezone.com/news/topic/donald-trump”},{“name”:”Iran”,”slug”:”Iran”,”golf course”:{“relative link”:”topic/iran”,”permanent link”:”https://www.News themezone.com/topic/iran”,”mobileWebLink”:”https://www.News themezone.com/topic/iran”},”department”:{“name”:”Latest news”,”slug”:”news-politics”},”section”:{“qualification”:”World news”,”slug”:”world-news”},”issue”:{“qualification”:”Middle East”,”slug”:”Middle East”,”overrides section tag”:FAKE},”URL”:”https://www.News themezone.com/news/topic/middle-east”},{“name”:”Middle East”,”slug”:”Middle East”,”golf course”:{“relative link”:”theme/middle east”,”permanent link”:”https://www.News themezone.com/topic/middle-east”,”mobileWebLink”:”https://www.News themezone.com/topic/middle-east”},”department”:{“name”:”Latest news”,”slug”:”news-politics”},”section”:{“qualification”:”World news”,”slug”:”world-news”},”issue”:{“qualification”:”Middle East”,”slug”:”Middle East”,”overrides section tag”:FAKE},”URL”:”https://www.News themezone.com/news/topic/middle-east”}],”enLiveblogLive”:null,”enLiveblog”:FAKE,”backfillRelated articles”:[{[{“edition ID”:”us”,”holder”:”Can Trump avoid a massive war in the Middle East?”,”Default image”:{“guy”:”Hector”,”URL”:”https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/684c4304190000df07880d21.jpeg”,”queryParams”:{},”broad”:8192,”height”:5464,”credit”:”ATTA KENARE via Getty Images”,”operations”:””},”URL”:”https://www.News themezone.com/entry/iran-israel-trump_n_684c42bfe4b0897e37f9b127″,”ten”:”Israel’s dramatic attacks on Iran present a dangerous test for a U.S. foreign policy team that is understaffed and riven by factional disputes.”},{“edition ID”:”us”,”holder”:”Trump says ‘peace’ with Iran will come as he threatens more war”,”Default image”:{“guy”:”Hector”,”URL”:”https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/68577577190000b439247d33.jpeg”,”queryParams”:{},”broad”:4000,”height”:2667,”credit”:”Bloomberg via Getty Images”,”operations”:””},”URL”:”https://www.News themezone.com/entry/trump-iran-threat-war_n_68577514e4b0f4c2e022d201″,”ten”:”The president spoke for less than four minutes and offered virtually no explanation or strategic rationale for joining Israel’s war.”},{“edition ID”:”us”,”holder”:”Trump’s decision to attack Iran creates global chaos just days later”,”Default image”:{“guy”:”Hector”,”URL”:”https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/69a74b1a1500007e0001a46e.jpeg”,”queryParams”:{“cache”:”GyOHDF0fIM”},”broad”:4032,”height”:2688,”credit”:”- via Getty Images”,”operations”:””},”URL”:”https://www.News themezone.com/entry/trump-iran-chaos_n_69a749d5e4b0085f232a41ed”,”ten”:”

From collapsing stockpiles to rising oil prices to tens of thousands of Americans stranded abroad with no easy way home, the president has unleashed a global disaster.

“},{“edition ID”:”us”,”holder”:”Iran wants to reduce tension. What about Trump and Netanyahu?”,”Default image”:{“guy”:”Hector”,”URL”:”https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/6859bf2f1900004695247fcd.jpeg”,”queryParams”:{},”broad”:7728,”height”:5152,”credit”:”NurPhoto via Getty Images”,”operations”:””},”URL”:”https://www.News themezone.com/entry/trump-strategy-iran-israel-war-qatar_n_6859be5fe4b0eb84d4e104b5″,”ten”:”Iran’s attack on the United States actually leaves open a path to de-escalating the conflict. Will American and Israeli leaders seize the opportunity?”},{“edition ID”:”us”,”holder”:”Israel’s dangerous war against Iran is escalating, with Donald Trump’s tacit blessing”,”Default image”:{“guy”:”Hector”,”URL”:”https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/684e1b2f190000f063880e33.jpeg”,”queryParams”:{},”broad”:8640,”height”:5760,”credit”:”via News”,”operations”:””},”URL”:”https://www.News themezone.com/entry/trump-iran-israel-war_n_684e19d5e4b0028eac532cf5″,”ten”:”The United States has a unique power to impose restraint, but with the offensive in its third day and the death toll rising, there are few signs that Trump will exert his influence.”}],”Login URL”:”https://login.News themezone.com/login?dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.News themezone.com%2Fentry%2Ftrump-middle-east-lucky-hes-president-iran-war_n_69b07501e4b07e0eaa23b59a%3Fhp_auth_done%3D1″,”cet unit”:”body_buzz”,”enableIncontentPlayer”:FAKE,”bodyAds”:[[“

rnrn”,”

rnrn”,”

rnrn”],”ad count”:0,”midArticleAdPartner”:null},”enCollectionEmbed”:false}”>