Trump calls Iran conflict ‘small potatoes’

President Donald Trump called the conflict with Iran “small potatoes” as he defended Vice President JD Vance’s decision to avoid describing the fighting as a war.

Asked in the Oval Office about Vance’s comments, Trump said U.S. strikes on Iran were now “intermittent” and that “a lot of people don’t call it a war.” He said he preferred to describe the confrontation as a military conflict because it was not a major challenge for the United States.

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I can understand what he’s saying.

“I can understand what he’s saying,” Trump said. “I call it a military conflict because it’s small potatoes for us. It’s not a big thing.”

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I call it a military conflict because it’s small potatoes for us. It’s not a big thing.

Vance made the comments during a White House briefing on Thursday, when he also declined to predict whether the six-month-old conflict would end before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Republicans are seeking to retain their narrow majorities in Congress. “I wouldn’t call it a war,” Vance said when asked whether the fighting could end before voters went to the polls. “Right now, there is no active shooting.”

The description came even as Iran fired at Kuwait, a U.S. ally in the Gulf, on Thursday. The attack followed several rounds of U.S. strikes on Iran earlier in the week. The conflict has cost U.S. taxpayers more than $37.5 billion and left 18 U.S. service members dead.

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I wouldn’t call it a war. Right now, there is no active shooting.