Trump says Iran conflict is "not a big deal to the United States" and says it is not a state of war

On September 5, U.S. President Trump called the U.S. -Iran conflict, which lasted for more than six months,"insignificant" and said he would not describe it as a major war. Trump said on Friday that it was a "military conflict" but that "it was not a big deal for us" and that the two sides were not currently at war. Trump responded to Vice President Vance's previous statement that "it should not be called war," saying that "this is true in many places" and said that the United States is only conducting intermittent strikes. Trump once again compared the 18 U.S. military deaths in this conflict with the Vietnam and Afghanistan wars, saying that "too many people were lost," but the two wars killed tens of thousands of U.S. military personnel. He also said that the United States has achieved significant results on the Iran issue. Polls show that the American public has a low opinion of Trump's handling of the Iran conflict. Republicans are under pressure to maintain control of Congress in the November midterm elections as the conflict drives up energy prices. Previous remarks by Trump administration officials to downplay the impact of the conflict have also been criticized by Democrats.