WASHINGTON — President Trump arrived in Delaware Wednesday morning for the dignified transfer of the bodies of four US service members killed in the Iran war in recent days — telling journalists it was “one of the hardest things to do” for him.
Trump is making the trip as he threatens to expand the war in retaliation for Iranian attacks on US troops and international shipping — and as many leading Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), urge a quick resolution of the conflict.
“We’re going to honor them. And one of the hardest things to do for me, it’s one of the hardest things to do as a president. But has to be done,” Trump told reporters as he traveled to Dover Air Force Base for the ceremony with Gold Star family members.
“What I’m going to say [to grieving relatives] is, ‘We love you. We love your child’… and all you can do is draw out your heart,” added the president, who also warned that Iran is “going to pay a big price” and was “being decimated.”
Three of the soldiers were killed in an Iranian missile strike on a Jordanian military base, while the fourth died during the controlled detonation of an downed Iranian drone in northern Iraq.
Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, were killed in the Jordan attack. The third soldier who died is believed to be Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, NY, whose remains will also be returned Wednesday.
Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Spring Lake, NC, died in Iraq.
As he departed Washington, Trump dismissed polling showing a significant majority of Americans oppose the war.
“Americans aren’t against the war,” he said. “A poll just came out. Americans don’t want to have gasoline prices, but they’re not against the war. That just came out loud and clear in a poll. Nobody wants Iran to have a nuclear weapon. You want Iran to have a nuclear weapon? You think it’s good?”
Trump has been attempting for months to end the war, which began Feb. 28, through negotiations with Tehran.
This month’s fighting ended a cease-fire in place since April 8, which was followed by a preliminary peace deal signed by Trump June 17. That tentative agreement was cast aside after new Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said Tuesday that Iran was “probably” trying to hurt Republicans in the November midterms by continuing the war, whle Johnson told reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday that “now we’ve got to wrap it up.”
