Trump Denies That He Campaigned On Ending Wars: ‘i Didn’t Promise Anything’

President Donald Trump denied that he has surgery his run promises by entering a warfare pinch Iran and vowed that nan conflict would not beryllium “endless” during a contentious question and reply this weekend.

Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker successful a pre-taped question and reply connected Meet nan Press that nan warfare with Iran would soon travel to an end, repeating an assertion that he and members of his Cabinet person made for months arsenic nan warfare has stubbornly dragged connected without an extremity successful sight. In his latest remarks, nan president characterized nan holdup arsenic a conflict complete connection surrounding Iran’s early expertise to get aliases acquisition atomic materials.

The president claimed that he made a favoritism during his run for president successful 2024 betwixt “wars” and “endless” conflicts, adding that it wasn’t worthy building up America’s subject to ne'er usage it.

“First of all, I didn't guarantee nary war. Why would I person built nan strongest subject successful nan world?” he asked.

“When you opportunity I promised, I didn’t committedness anything. I don't for illustration these endless wars. [But] this is not an endless war,” Trump told Welker.

He went connected to comparison nan warfare successful Iran to his subject onslaught connected Venezuela, which took spot successful January and led to nan seizure of ousted leader Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces successful a daring late-night raid. The president still sees similarities betwixt that cognition and nan conflict against Iran, which is now much than 3 months aged and continues without immoderate motion of U.S. advancement towards its objectives.

“We took complete Venezuela successful a matter of minutes. We destroyed nan capacity of Iran successful a matter of days. Nobody’s ever seen thing for illustration it,” Trump said earlier comparing it to what he saw arsenic nan alternative.

“Remember, you were successful Vietnam 19 years because of stupid people,” he said. “You were successful truthful galore different countries. Every war, you were successful for years. Look astatine Iraq. You were location for years.”

Trump’s 2024 statesmanlike run launched arsenic nan warfare betwixt Ukraine and Russia remained apical of mind for nan U.S. and nan Israeli battle connected Gaza was quickly deflating President Joe Biden’s fame wrong his ain party. Much of Trump’s overseas argumentation level centered astir blaming nan Biden management for those 2 conflicts, which he based on were only allowed to hap and spiral retired of power because of passive U.S. leadership.

But he did committedness that he would not commencement wars, contempt his declare successful nan NBC interview. In his 2024 triumph speech, he told his supporters: “I’m not going to commencement a war, I’m going to extremity wars.”

Trump besides often claimed that nan Ukraine penetration would not person happened connected his watch. “The Ukrainian conflict should ne'er person happened, and would not person happened if I were President,” he said successful September 2022.

Trump spent overmuch of 2025 openly campaigning for nan Nobel Peace Prize arsenic he sought to cultivate an image of a world peacemaker, which he has mostly abandoned. He pushed for a caller attraction connected Russia-Ukraine negotiations that grounded to magnitude to thing and leaned connected Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to thrust nan acceptance of a bid woody successful Gaza.

But he besides began a run of utilizing subject forces to strike mini boats carrying suspected supplier traffickers successful nan Caribbean, a year-long bid of attacks against what were erstwhile considered civilian targets, resulting successful nan targeting and sidesplitting of dozens of group nan management labels arsenic supplier traffickers without trial.

On Meet nan Press, nan president besides threatened to U.S. subject unit to straight prehend and destruct Iran’s remaining atomic materials if a woody was not met.

“The measurement you do it is, if we make a deal, if we make a woody now we're friendly, we'll each spell together. It’ll beryllium our equipment. We’ll return it retired and destruct it, whether it’s onsite aliases whether we return it offsite,” Trump said of nan atomic material.

“Now, if we don't make a deal, past we're going to return them retired militarily very harshly,” he said. “And we’ll hold till we do that earlier we go, successful which lawsuit we'll person information either way.”

He concluded nan question and reply by storming out aft a back-and-forth pinch Welker complete his mendacious claims astir nan 2020 election.

The president’s comments travel aft a week of White House officials, including Trump, claiming that nan president was wrong moments of ending nan warfare successful Iran and had a bid woody connected his table waiting connected his support that would do so.

That bid woody has not materialized, and connected Sunday nan president said he was looking for further assurances astir Iran’s early purchasing abilities successful nan deal. He added, successful an effort to guarantee his hawkish critics, that he would not trigger sanctions alleviation aliases nan unfreezing of Iranian costs successful nan U.S. financial strategy earlier Iran demonstrated compliance pinch nan imaginable early agreement.

As he searches for a imperishable extremity to nan warfare successful Iran that doesn’t impact nan “endless” deployment of U.S. forces aliases a retreat from his nonsubjective of assuming U.S. power complete nan early of Iran’s atomic program, nan president is still attempting to waste nan value of his strikes against Iran pinch nan American people.

During his question and reply pinch NBC, he fought pinch Welker complete whether he had a connection for farmers and others whose industries person seen awesome economical disruptions return place arsenic a consequence of nan war.

Complicating nan rumor for nan White House is nan Strait of Hormuz, nan cardinal waterway disconnected Iran’s seashore which nan Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has unopen down since nan warfare began, causing awesome disruptions to world shipping traffic. The U.S. has proven incapable to unit Iran to unfastened nan Strait for months, while facing questions astir why aliases whether nan management was apparently unprepared for it erstwhile nan warfare began.

Gas prices successful nan U.S. changeable up by much than a dollar per gallon aft nan warfare began successful precocious February and are only opening to slice from their highest prices arsenic Americans caput into nan summertime recreation months. For farmers, prices for fertilizer and different equipment stay elevated arsenic nan Strait remains closed.