'Nothing boring about this': Trump sells the Iran cause in high-stakes war
'Nothing boring about this': Trump sells the Iran cause in high-stakes war
Susan Page, USA TODAYMon, March 2, 2026 at 9:39 PM UTC
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He was remarkably relaxed and chatty, as though it were just another Monday.
But in a midday appearance in the East Room on March 2, President Donald Trump was delivering the first public explanation of the extraordinary U.S. and Israeli assault on Iran that has upended the region and may well define his presidency.
More: US strikes Iran: Trump’s gamble could spark wider Iran war
He outlined his goals, notably not mentioning the regime change he had encouraged over the weekend. He promised success but didn't outline a firm timetable.
"Whatever the time is, it's OK, whatever it takes," he said, saying they were running "substantially" ahead of the original projection of a campaign that would last four or five weeks. He insisted he had the backing of the world. "Everybody was behind us, they just didn't have the courage to say so."
It is, apparently, Trump's world now.
1 / 0President Trump holds Medal of Honor ceremony amid US strikes on Iran
President Donald Trump delivers comments about U.S. attacks on Iran at the start of a Medal of Honor ceremony in the East Room of the White House on March 2, 2026, in Washington, DC.
Donald J. Trump, who reshaped American politics during his first term, now seems determined to reshape the world during his second. From Gaza to Greenland, Caracas to Tehran, he is exerting U.S. economic might through tariffs and its military power through bombs.
But as soon as he finished extolling the prowess of the U.S. military against Iran, there were signs of the challenges he faces in persuading the American people he has chosen the right course.
A CNN poll taken over the weekend found those surveyed opposed the military action by double digits, 59%-41%. Sixty percent said he didn't have a clear plan. And by nearly 2-1, 54%-28%, they predicted it would make Iran more of a threat to the United States, not less of one.
Trump has ordered the bombing of six other countries over the past year − Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen − but none with anything close to the size and military muscle of Iran.
"Trump plunged the region into chaos with his 'delusional fantasies' and now fears more American troop casualties," Iran's top security official, Ali Larijani, declared in a string of defiant posts on the social media platform X March 2. "Iran, unlike the United States, has prepared for a long war."
For good or ill, the repercussions of Operation Epic Fury are sure to ripple through the region and the world for months and years ahead.
And through Trump's presidency.
'We will easily prevail'
Trump argued that the military strike was justified because the U.S. mainland itself could soon be hit by an Iranian nuclear weapon.
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"The regime already had missiles capable of hitting Europe and our bases, both local and overseas, and would soon have had missiles capable of reaching our beautiful America," he said. "An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would be an intolerable threat to the Middle East, but also to the American people."
That's at odds with a Defense Intelligence Agency estimate that Iran was at least a decade away from producing missiles that could reach the United States.
He specified four goals: to "obliterate" Iran's missile capabilities, "annihilate" its navy, ensure that it does not obtain a nuclear weapon and guarantee that it can no longer fund and direct terrorist proxies outside its borders.
That final goal seemed to signal the current regime could remain in power, though in videos posted on social media over the weekend, Trump had urged the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow those in power.
President Donald Trump speaks during a Medal of Honor ceremony in the East Room of the White House on March 2, 2026, in Washington, DC.
He didn't respond to reporters' questions and didn't address and some fundamental issues, including whether he would be willing to deploy U.S. ground troops. But he did express confidence in the outcome. "We will easily prevail," he said.
Trump was sufficiently at ease that he paused from reading remarks on the teleprompters before him to admire the East Room decor − "I picked those drapes in my first term," he said. "I always liked gold" − and to note how much noise the construction crew for the controversial new White House ballroom was making.
"My wife isn't thrilled" by the clatter, he said.
He mocked one of his predecessors − stretching out his full name, "Barack Hussein Obama" − and derided an unnamed commentator who suggested on TV that he might get bored with Iran in a week or so.
"I don't get bored," he said. "There's nothing boring about this."
From Vietnam and Afghanistan, a warning
In the East Room were reminders of the risks ahead.
The event had long been scheduled for the president to present three Medals of Honor. One was presented posthumously to Army Master Sergeant Roderick Edmonds, the heroic leader of U.S. troops at a German prisoner of war camp during World War II − a conflict that unified the nation and the free world.
The other two were presented to retired Army Command Sergeant Terry Richardson, recognized for bravery in Vietnam in 1968, and U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Michael Ollis, killed in action in Afghanistan in 2013.
Those two wars were a lesson in how a conflict can divide the nation − and undermine a presidency.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump turns to persuading Americans to support Iran war
Source: “AOL Breaking”
