Fact Check: Did Donald Trump say that nobody has died in the war with Iran?

WASHINGTON, DC: As the Trump administration continues to face criticism over the conflict in the Middle East, a rumor is circulating on social media platforms alleging that President Donald Trump said that nobody had died in the war with Iran. The claim has sparked anger and criticism among netizens, with many calling for a fact-check.

Claim: Trump said nobody died in the Iran war

The claim surfaced following Trump’s recent interview with "60 Minutes" correspondent Ross Douthat, which covered a wide range of topics, including Republicans' losses in the midterm elections, the wars in Iran and Ukraine, and the economy. 

Following the interviews, the Democratic Party’s rapid response X account posted a video where Trump is heard saying, “Nobody has died. You know, when you call it a war, it's not a war. If you look at what's happened with Iran, in the last six months, five months, six months, we haven't lost one soldier. You know, I wrote one thing down. I think it's intere—."

The clip was accompanied by a caption stating, “Trump on the Iran War: Nobody has died. It's not a war."

Later, the Democratic National Committee also posted a shortened version of the same clip on their Facebook and Instagram handles.

While the clip has evoked criticism of the president, a few others appeared skeptical and questioned the claim’s authenticity.

Fact Check: The claim omits what Trump said afterwards

Although Trump did say "nobody has died" while speaking about the Iran war, the viral clip omitted what he said immediately after that remark, including, "This war, seven months, 18 people killed. That includes Venezuela, 18," as well as, "Eighteen is too much."

The remark sought to compare the low number of casualties in the Iran war with higher losses in past conflicts. He also claimed that the deaths occurred early in the war, with no casualties in the past five or six months.

Hence, the claim is rated as corrupt attribution but misleading.

Donald Trump calls Iran war 'small potatoes'

In September, Trump sparked controversy by describing the confrontation with Iran as “small potatoes,” even after acknowledging that 18 American service members have been killed. 

"I call it a military conflict because it's small potatoes for us," the president said after a reporter asked him, “The Vice President said yesterday that he would not describe the conflict with Iran as a war...If this is not a war, what exactly is it?"