Trump calls Iran conflict ‘small potatoes’ and says he agrees with Vance that it’s not a ‘war’

Trump calls Iran conflict ‘small potatoes’ and says he agrees with Vance that it’s not a ‘war’ 0 seconds of 1 minute, 36 secondsVolume 0% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 Next Up China's President Xi arrives in Cairo on first visit to Mideast since region plunged into conflicts 00:56 00:00 01:36 01:36 More Videos 00:56 China's President Xi arrives in Cairo on first visit to Mideast since region plunged into conflicts 01:24 Vance blames Iran for high gas prices, says he won't 'make a promise' about when they might fall 01:36 Trump: Strikes on Iran will be 'limited,' but it 'doesn't mean we won't smack them' 00:53 Iranian media and Red Crescent footage show damage after US attack on Iran 00:43 Iran holds funeral for victims of strike on wedding 00:37 Visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping takes part in a welcome ceremony in Cairo 00:29 Penn State drug ring defendant granted bail 01:20 Trump oil deal draws skepticism and anger in Venezuela Close 1 of 3 | President Donald Trump on Friday said the conflict in Iran is “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.” 2 of 3 | President Donald Trump speaks and announces action to help farmers and ranchers with meat processing, as a group of farmers and ranchers stand behind, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) 3 of 3 | Vice President JD Vance speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) By AAMER MADHANI Updated 11:00 PM MESZ, September 4, 2026 Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday said the conflict in Iran is “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.” 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. A deal with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz may require a compromise from Trump 3 MIN READ Vance says Iran fight isn’t a ‘war’ as Trump tries to navigate unpopular conflict as election nears 4 MIN READ 16 Trump says USS Lincoln’s record time at sea during Iran operations ‘not nearly long enough’ 4 MIN READ 16 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, which began on Feb. 28, and has not deployed troops into the country. “We did Venezuela and we did this. In Venezuela, we lost nobody,” said Trump, referring to the January U.S. military operation to seize former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and spirit him to New York City to face federal drug trafficking charges. “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.” A total of 58,220 members of the U.S. armed forces died during the Vietnam War, according to records from the U.S. National Archives. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google and Terms of Service apply. Pressed by a reporter on describing the conflict as “small potatoes” when 18 U.S. service members have been killed, Trump responded by reiterating his argument that the conflict—one that he said at the outset of the war would last a matter of weeks—has led to the defanging of Iran’s nuclear program. “Iran will not have a nuclear weapon because if they did you probably wouldn’t be standing here,” Trump said. AAMER MADHANI Madhani is a White House reporter for the Associated Press whose reporting focuses on U.S. foreign policy. Contact him securely on Signal at aamermadhani.39 twitter mailto