The president insisted that Americans support his military action in Iran ahead of a dignified transfer of four U.S. soldiers killed in the Middle East, though public polling shows the opposite
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NEED TO KNOW
- President Trump attended a dignified transfer ceremony on Wednesday, July 22, for four U.S. service members killed in the Iran war
- Trump claimed that each of the fallen soldiers were in agreement about the war’s value
- Recent polls show most Americans and even a significant portion of Trump supporters believe the Iran war has not been worth its cost
President Donald Trump spoke to reporters ahead of his trip to Delaware on Wednesday, July 22, to attend the dignified transfer of four U.S. service members killed amid the Iran war.
Before boarding Air Force One en route to Dover Air Force Base, Trump spoke on behalf of the fallen soldiers.
“They are indeed great heroes actually,” Trump, 80, said. “All of them said very strongly, ‘We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,’ so we’re going to honor them. And it’s one of the hardest things to do. For me, it’s one of the hardest things to do as a president. But, has to be done.”
When asked by a reporter what he would say to the families of victims who were killed in a war that many Americans have opposed, the president replied, “American’s aren’t against the war.”
“Americans don’t want high gasoline prices, but they aren’t against the war,” he insisted. “That just came out, loud and clear in a poll. Nobody wants Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”
Despite the president’s claim, polling has shown that support for the Iran war appears to be slipping among his base.
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A new Politico poll found that just over one-third of Trump’s supporters believe the conflict has been worth its economic costs, down from half in May. The survey, conducted by independent polling firm Public First, also found that 37% of self-identified MAGA voters believe the U.S. should stay involved only if the war doesn’t become more expensive, up from 29% in May. Nearly one in five respondents said the U.S. should end its involvement regardless of the cost.
A separate poll by The Washington Post-Ipsos found that 68% of Americans believe the Iran war has not been worth fighting, compared with just 28% who said it has. The newspaper noted that those numbers are even more unfavorable than the lowest levels of public support for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, which never saw such a wide margin in their polling.
First Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii; Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas; and Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, N.Y., were killed in action during a Friday, July 17, enemy attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, the U.S. Department of Defense announced in a news release.
Separately Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Fayetteville, N.C., died during a controlled detonation in Iraq.
Trump suggested on Truth Social on Tuesday that 18 American deaths during his ongoing Iran war is an impressive statistic compared to thousands of Americans who died during years-long wars in the nation’s past.
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