{"id":95,"date":"2026-05-22T18:25:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T18:25:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=95"},"modified":"2026-05-22T18:25:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T18:25:21","slug":"trump-says-he-gets-a-kick-out-of-criticisms-he-receives-for-us-military-deaths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=95","title":{"rendered":"Trump Says He \u201cGets a Kick\u201d Out of Criticisms He Receives for US Military Deaths"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<!-- begin partial\/series-card --><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><i><span>Support justice-driven, accurate and transparent news \u2014 make a <\/span><\/i><i><span>quick donation<\/span><\/i><i><span> to Truthout today!\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=93\">Humanitarian Convoy Stuck in Libyan Desert Is Determined to Reach Gaza<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Less than a week before Memorial Day weekend \u2014 a federal holiday that aims to recognize members of the U.S. military who have died in combat zones \u2014 President Donald Trump sought to downplay the U.S. casualties of his ill-defined and unauthorized war on Iran. <\/p>\n<p>Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday, Trump was asked about servicemembers\u2019 deaths.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe lost 13 people. \u2026 In other wars, you lost hundreds of thousands of people,\u201d Trump said, seemingly complaining about any criticism of the war that involves discussing military deaths or casualties.<\/p>\n<p>Trump further claimed that any president other than himself would have lost \u201ca hundred thousand people\u201d if tasked with the same military goals he\u2019s had in Venezuela and Iran. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI get a kick when I look at somebody on television, and they say, \u2018he\u2019s lost 13 people,&#8217;\u201d Trump elaborated. <\/p>\n<p>[embedded tweet]<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s comments come as the war on Iran is soon to enter its fourth month. Almost one month ago, Trump announced an indefinite ceasefire with the country, a condition of the war he claims is continuing despite ongoing skirmishes. Blockades by both sides also continue within the Strait of Hormuz. Under international law, blockades are considered acts of war. <\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s diminishing of those who have died in the war so far ignores the larger official U.S. casualty count. While 13 servicemembers have died, another 381 have been injured, according to the most recent numbers from CENTCOM. <\/p>\n<p>Casualty reports have been infrequent, however, and it\u2019s possible the numbers may be much higher. Indeed, a Congressional Research Service report suggests the U.S. has had as many as 42 aerial vehicles damaged during the war, indicating that damage to American military bases and war resources is more serious than the White House is letting on, and that the Trump administration isn\u2019t being forthright about the war in general. <\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, <em>The Intercept<\/em> also reported on a \u201ccover-up\u201d of U.S. military casualties across the Middle East, including the omission from its official count of soldiers known to have died in Operation Epic Fury.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=91\">Despite Trump\u2019s Oil Blockade, the Quiet Resistance of Daily Life Continues in Cuba<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The news organization noted that it\u2019s \u201cimpossible to know how many other casualties have been kept under wraps,\u201d citing past statements by Trump, including one instance where he pushed \u201ca complete fiction to the public.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>That incident featured an Iranian missile attack on Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq in January 2020 \u2014 itself a response to the Trump-ordered assassination of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani. Trump had claimed that \u201cNo Americans were harmed\u201d in that attack, and that the U.S. \u201csuffered no casualties.\u201d In fact, at least 110 U.S. troops suffered traumatic brain injuries, a condition Trump later downplayed as being just \u201cheadaches.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s downplaying of U.S. casualties and deaths from the Iran War comes just ahead of Monday\u2019s Memorial Day holiday. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs website, the holiday is \u201cthe nation\u2019s foremost annual day to mourn and honor its deceased service men and women.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the hundreds of casualties the U.S. has suffered, nearly 3,500 Iranians, mostly civilians, have been killed in the war, with at least another 26,500 injured. <\/p>\n<p>Michael T. McPhearson, executive director for Veterans for Peace, excoriated Trump for his comments earlier in the week on troop deaths.<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s \u201cflippant attitude as he talks about the deaths is disgusting and disrespectful to the families and the service members\u2019 sacrifices,\u201d McPhearson said in comments to <em>Truthout<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Describing the decision to attack Iran as a clear \u201cwar of choice,\u201d McPhearson also said the public \u201cis tired of the U.S.\u2019s endless wars\u201d in general.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPresident Trump\u2019s response and demeanor confirm what I\u2019ve known for a long time: he is a self-centered president who cares nothing about military service members, their families, and the American people,\u201d McPhearson added.<\/p>\n<p>Public support for the war on Iran is incredibly low.  found that only 30 percent of Americans support the war on Iran, with 60 percent saying they are opposed. On his handling of the war, 31 percent say they approve of how Trump has managed things, while 59 percent say they disapprove.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=89\">Omissions, Corrections, and Deceptions \u2014 Critics Blast the DNC\u2019s Autopsy Report<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There have been nearly 400 US military casualties in Operation Epic Fury so far.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":94,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Trump Says He \u201cGets a Kick\u201d Out of Criticisms He Receives for US Military Deaths - 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