Trump downplays war with Iran, in which 18 US service members have been killed so far, as 'small potatoes'
asserted
members → downplay → potatoes
Donald Trump minimized the war with Iran while speaking with reporters in the Oval Office on Friday.
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Trump → minimize → Friday
When asked how he would describe the conflict, if not a war, the president called it “small potatoes”.
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president → ask → it
“A lot of people don’t call it a war.
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lot → call → it
I call it a military conflict because it’s small potatoes for us.
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it → call → us
It’s not a big thing,” Trump said.
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Trump → ’ → ?
“We did Venezuela and we did this.
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we → do → this
In Venezuela we lost nobody.
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we → lose → nobody
In this we lost 18 people and in Vietnam we lost 100,000 people and in other conflicts you lost tens of thousands of people.
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you → lose → people
When a reporter followed up, saying 18 service members have died and there are record-long deployments, Trump retorted: “Why is it record long?
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it → follow → ?
We’re at five months now.”
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We → ’re → months
The war with Iran started in late February, nearly seven months ago.
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war → start → February
During the conflict, thousands of Iranians have been killed and more than 750 US service members have been wounded.
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members → kill → Iranians
The war has also brought soaring gas prices and disrupted food supply chains worldwide, as the blockade over the Strait of Hormuz has stifled trade and oil supply.
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blockade → bring → trade
Despite Trump saying Friday that the Iran war is not a “war”, he himself has repeatedly called it a war.
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it → say → ?
Just on Monday, the president referred to it as “a relatively little war”.
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president → refer → war
Trump told reporters Friday that “there’s no fighting right now”, despite a sharp escalation in the war this week with US strikes on Iran.
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Trump → tell → Iran
He also said “we’re taking out a lot of oil” and “we control the Hormuz Strait”, both of these statements are not accurate.
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both → say → statements
The president added that the US could hit Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, where nuclear facilities are reportedly housed, “very soon”.
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facilities → add → Mountain
The week ended with court rulings that were seen as wins for democratic elections in the country.
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that → end → country
A federal judge ruled that mail voting can continue for the midterms and Missouri’s supreme court denied a Republican-drawn congressional map meant to carve up a Democrat-held district.
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court → rule → district
Donald Trump also, once again, downplayed the war in Iran, calling it “small potatoes” and threatened to axe trade with dozens of countries unless the Federal Reserve agreed to cut interest rates.
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Reserve → downplay → rates
Here’s what else happened today:
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what → ’ → ?
Aiming to catch leakers, Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon subjected 50 members of the military’s Joint Staff to polygraph tests.
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Pentagon → aim → tests
According to the New York Times, the tests came after a deluge of leaks to the press about diminishing stock pile munitions.
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tests → accord → munitions
A federal judge extends block on Trump’s executive order, aimed at stifling mail voting.
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judge → extend → voting
For a second time, a judge ruled that the presidents order to make a nationwide list of verified voters would result in “nearly guaranteeing significant disenfranchisement for eligible voters”.
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order → rule → voters
Despite 18 service members being killed so far in the Iran war, Trump called the conflict “small potatoes”.
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Trump → kill → conflict
While speaking with reporters, the president minimized the war saying it wasn’t even a “war”, but rather a “military conflict”.
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it → speak → war
He compared it to Vietnam and said it’s “not a big thing”.
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it → compare → Vietnam
Trump signed an executive order geared toward supporting cattle ranchers, but also takes aim at delisting two species of wolves from the Endangered Species Act.
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Trump → sign → Act
The president said removing the gray wolf and Mexican wolf from the act would help ranchers “combat predation”.
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ranchers → say → predation
Missouri’s supreme court struck down a Republican-drawn congressional map that would’ve carved up a Democrat-held district.
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that → strike → district
The ruling dealt a blow to Republican efforts to use redistricting to preserve their control of the House.
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ruling → deal → House
John Fetterman is avoiding his work in the Senate, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
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Fetterman → avoid → Journal
A scathing report by the paper found that Fetterman, a democrat from Pennsylvania, whose views have increasingly diverged from those of his party, is frequently skipping constituent and committee meetings in lieu of appearances in conservative media.
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views → find → media
A report found that Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Trump’s former labor secretary, created a ‘toxic, intimidating and humiliating’ work environment.
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DeRemer → find → environment
An investigation by the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General found that she had violated several department rules, including misusing public funds for travel, mistreating staff and carrying on an inappropriate relationship with a member of her security detail.
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she → find → detail
Trump threatened to axe trade with dozens of countries unless the Federal Reserve agrees to cut interest rates.
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Reserve → threaten → rates
The President cited the strong August jobs report in a social media post pressuring his new Fed chair, Kevin Warsh, to cut interest rates, a move Trump argues will juice the economy but that could also spark higher inflation.
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that → cite → inflation
…and 151 more, not listed.
The Aporia
