Trump attends dignified transfer of fallen soldiers after boasting that his Iran war has only killed 18 Americans

“Americans don’t want high gasoline prices but they aren’t against the war,” the president told reporters ahead of the solemn ceremony on Wednesday, July 22

NEED TO KNOW

• President Donald Trump traveled to Delaware to attend a dignified transfer ceremony for four U.S. service members killed in recent attacks amid the Iran war
• The ceremony marked the third dignified transfer Trump has attended since the U.S. military campaign against Iran began in February
• Ahead of the event, Trump defended the Iran war despite declining support among his base

President Donald Trump traveled to Delaware on Wednesday, July 22, to attend the dignified transfer of four U.S. service members killed amid the ongoing war with Iran.

The ceremony took place at the Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday morning, where the remains of U.S. service members killed in action will be returned to their families. Dignified transfers are among the most solemn responsibilities of a commander in chief, and Wednesday’s event marked the third such event that Trump has attended since launching the U.S. military campaign against Iran in February.

First Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii; Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas; and Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, N.Y., were killed in action during a Friday, July 17, enemy attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, the U.S. Department of Defense announced in a news release.

Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Fayetteville, N.C., died separately during a controlled detonation in Iraq.

The recent soldier deaths brought the U.S. death toll in the Iran war to 18, a statistic that the president has framed as an accomplishment.

In a Tuesday, July 21, post on Truth Social, Trump pointed to the relatively short length of the Iran conflict — less than five months — alongside decades-long U.S. wars, comparing the number of American lives lost in each.

Before boarding Air Force One en route to Delaware, Trump spoke to reporters about Iran, saying “They’re going to pay a big price. They’re being decimated.”

When asked by a reporter what he would say to the families of victims who were killed in a war that Americans largely oppose, the president replied, “American’s aren’t against the war.”

“Americans don’t want high gasoline prices but they aren’t against the war,” he continued.

His remarks come after a new POLITICO Poll showed that just over one-third of Trump’s supporters now believe the conflict has been worth its economic costs. That’s down 13 percentage points from May, when half of his supporters said the same.

The survey, conducted by independent polling firm Public First, also found that 37% of self-identified MAGA voters believe the U.S. should remain involved in the Iran war only if it doesn’t lead to higher costs, up from 29% in May. Meanwhile, nearly one in five MAGA voters said the U.S. should end its involvement in the conflict regardless of the cost.

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Before touching down at Dover Air Force Base, the president threatened Iran’s infrastructure on Truth Social.

“From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran,” the president wrote.

Read the original article on People