Trump's and Hegseth's awkward comments about US troop deaths in Iran war "That's the way it is" [View all]

The war with Iran is now less than a week old, and Trump and his administration have already made multiple awkward comments about the deaths of US soldiers.

After the first three deaths were reported, Trump told NBC News on Sunday: “We have three, but we expect casualties, but in the end it’s going to be a great deal for the world.”

Trump was immediately inserting those deaths into a cost-benefit analysis.

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“And sadly, there will likely be more [deaths] before it ends,” Trump said, before adding: “That’s the way it is. Likely be more.”

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And then during a briefing at the Pentagon Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth criticized the media for supposedly focusing too much on the dead soldiers in an effort to make Trump “look bad.” He suggested those deaths were getting disproportionate play, compared to the military’s successes.

“But when a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it’s front-page news,” Hegseth said. “I get it; the press only wants to make the president look bad. But try for once to report the reality.”


https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/04/politics/us-troop-deaths-iran-trump-hegseth