Most presidents agonize about their decision to send US troops into harm’s way. In 1983, Ronald Reagan eloquently explained how each death weighed heavily upon him:
“There is a special sadness that accompanies the death of a serviceman, for we’re never quite good enough to them. Not really; we can’t be, because what they gave us is beyond our powers to repay. And so, when a serviceman dies, it’s a tear in the fabric, a break in the whole, and all we can do is remember.”
Donald Trump has a different opinion. When he turned down visiting a graveyard for US Troops he said, “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers” before going on to describe Americans killed in war as “suckers”.
So we probably shouldn’t be too surprised that Trump is nonplussed about Americans dying in his completely unnecessary attack on Iran:
a slurring Trump in new video on American troops killed by Iran: “Sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That's the way it is. Likely be more.“ pic.twitter.com/oSARG2xrv7
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 1, 2026
“Sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is. Likely be more.“
It should, of course, be underlined that the men and women who will die for Trump will be overwhelmingly from poverty-stricken states whose Republican leaders have engineered a situation where military service is one of the few routes out of destitution.
“Some of you may die, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make”
Trump himself, of course, dodged military service after being conveniently diagnosed with “bone spurs”, which meant he received five deferments from the draft for the Vietnam War. A doctor apparently did this as a favor to Trump’s father.
Except in his little speech, he doesn't even make much effort to pretend he sees it as a sacrifice. That's a sentiment for the little people.
— Rick (@Rick_in_ICT) March 1, 2026
But of course, the future corpses currently donning their uniforms as Trump plunges the nation into yet another forever war in the Middle East with no clear objective don’t have a wealthy daddy with the influence to get them out of harm’s way.
Just like the thousands before them, they will die to enrich already obscenely wealthy men. Then, sometime in the 2030s, the government will hand the now-destroyed Iran over to an even more evil, even more fundamentalist, repressive Islamic regime than before.
As Trump accurately put it: “That’s the way it is.” It sure is.
