The ongoing conflict in Iran has led to the first fatalities of US troops since March, with reports confirming that three service members have lost their lives recently.
Following their deaths, it was highlighted that President Donald Trump, who will attend another dignified transfer ceremony on Wednesday, often struggles to express empathy regarding the situation.
Recent days have underscored that Trump appears more focused on using the troops’ deaths for political strategy as the contentious conflict approaches its fifth month.
This has been a recurring theme since the war commenced, but his latest remarks to the press over the weekend emphasized this point further.
In an interview with NewsNation, Trump made statements that aligned with typical presidential responses. He referred to the deaths as “a very sad thing” and acknowledged that they occurred “in service to our country.” He reiterated his stance that “we’re never allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”
However, in his conversation with the New York Post, he deviated from this tone.
After denouncing the deaths as “a shame,” he continued, stating, “They did it because they don’t want to see Iran have a nuclear weapon,” referring to the troops. “… And it just shows you how bad (the Iranians) are.”
While he reaffirmed his objectives for the war in the earlier interview, he implied in the latter that the deceased soldiers actually supported his military actions. He has not provided any proof for this assertion. Soldiers are expected to serve regardless of their personal beliefs about the mission.
On Tuesday morning, Trump reiterated that the killed service members and/or their families shared his views. “These are people that want — and they feel like I do — that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he stated during a press interaction in the Oval Office. “Very simple.”
The administration has previously treaded carefully on this topic.
Following a dignified transfer of service members in mid-March, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reported that “family after family” at Dover Air Base in Delaware requested him to continue and secure victory in the war.
“They said finish this. Honor their sacrifice. Do not waver. Do not stop until the job is done,” Hegseth asserted.
However, the remarks of at least one father of a deceased soldier raised questions. Charles Simmons, the father of 28-year-old Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, told NBC News that “that was not something we talked about.”
While Simmons expressed supportive sentiments toward Trump and Hegseth — and clarified that he did not represent other families — he confirmed he had not encouraged them to continue the fight in the war.
“No, I didn’t say anything along those lines,” he remarked.
Despite Simmons’ remarks, Trump reiterated a similar claim to Hegseth during a primetime address from the Oval Office on April 1. Trump asserted that “every single one of the people, their loved ones, said, ‘Please, sir, please, finish the job.’ Every one of them.”
Moreover, Trump’s behavior regarding these dignified transfer ceremonies has sparked significant scrutiny.
During one such ceremony in March, he wore a baseball cap available for purchase on his business website. Just days later, his political action committee used an image from that dignified transfer in a fundraising email. The email featured Trump saluting next to a flag-draped transfer case, which contained a soldier’s remains.
Reflecting on earlier fatalities in the Iran war, both Trump and Hegseth made notable comments:
-
Following the initial fatalities, Trump remarked, “We have three, but we expect casualties, but in the end it’s going to be a great deal for the world.”
-
Later in a video that day, he spoke in a manner that critics deemed insensitive. “And sadly, there will likely be more (deaths) before it ends,” Trump commented, before seemingly ad-libbing: “That’s the way it is. Likely be more.”
-
Hegseth criticized the media for excessive coverage of the fatalities, accusing the press during a Pentagon briefing of attempting to politically undermine Trump by making the deaths headline news. (Shortly after these remarks, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine at the same briefing paid extensive tribute to the fallen troops.)
The common thread in all these responses is a political angle.
In the aftermath of these fatalities, both Trump and Hegseth appeared to recognize the potential for these events to be leveraged against the war effort and Trump personally, prompting them to attempt to mitigate that perception quickly.
Trump reiterated this sentiment on Tuesday afternoon as Hegseth testified before Congress seeking additional funding for the military operations. The president shared on social media a comparison of the lower US casualty numbers from the Iran conflict and his efforts to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to the higher casualties from prior wars that have lasted considerably longer.
Both Trump and Hegseth have appeared to try to turn the narrative surrounding the deaths to their advantage, suggesting that the supposed backing of the fallen service members and/or their families supports the war effort.
(USdaily also reported on Monday that the administration has been slow to reveal injuries sustained by troops, which the administration states is due to security concerns.)
Following the NBC report about the father whose narrative differed from Hegseth’s, a Pentagon spokesperson stated that “the details of each individual conversation remain private.”
Nonetheless, it was the Trump administration that chose to address the supposed general sentiment of those conversations — in a rather surprising manner. Now Trump is echoing this by asserting that the recently fallen troops “don’t want to see Iran have a nuclear weapon.”
All that has transpired in these situations clearly reveals why: When service members die, Trump tends to view these incidents through a political lens.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
