President Donald Trump on Friday called the conflict in Iran "small potatoes" as he defended Vice President JD Vance for asserting that months of on-and-off attacks in the Middle East are not a "war." This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
Asked during an Oval Office exchange about Vance's comments made a day earlier, Trump noted that U.S. strikes on Iran are now "intermittent" and seemed to downplay the intensity of a war that's cost U.S. taxpayers more than $37.5 billion and left 18 U.S. service members dead.
"I can understand what he's saying," said Trump. He added, "I call it a military conflict because it's small potatoes for us. It's not a big thing."
Vance on Thursday, during a White House press briefing, rejected the use of the word "war" to describe the U.S. fighting with Iran and steered clear of predicting that the 6-month-old conflict would be over by November's midterm elections, in which Republicans are trying to hang on to their narrow majorities in Congress.
"I wouldn't call it a war," Vance said after being asked during a White House press briefing about whether the fighting could end before voters cast their ballots in the Nov. 3 congressional elections. "Right now, there is no active shooting."
Vance's assertion came even as Iran fired at U.S. Gulf ally Kuwait on Thursday in retaliation for rounds of U.S. strikes on Iran earlier in the week.
Trump in Friday's exchange with reporters added that the U.S. death toll in the Iran conflict is relatively lower than some other recent U.S. wars. The U.S., along with Israel, have only carried out air strikes in the Iran war.