Lawmakers criticize Trump’s ‘callous’ remarks on US casualties from Iran operation
President Donald Trump’s comments immediately after U.S. casualties during military operations in Iran were first announced came under scrutiny this week.
Six Americans have died since the U.S. and Israel conducted joint strikes in Iran Saturday. Three deaths were initially reported, with U.S. Central Command later confirming that three others also died.
“We pray for the full recovery of the wounded and send our immense love and eternal gratitude to the families of the fallen,” Trump, in a Truth Social video Sunday, said. “And sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is.”
That last sentence drew criticism from Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., a member of the Senate’s Armed Services Committee.
“Disregarding these deaths as just ‘the way it is’ is a slap in the face to our men and women in uniform and anyone with a loved one in the military,” Kaine said on social media, adding that Trump “should be ashamed.”
Combat veteran Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., called Trump a “five-time draft dodger.” Trump avoided the military draft in the Vietnam War to complete his college education, and then, when he graduated, because of “bone spurs” in his heels.
“What a disgrace,” Duckworth said in response to his comments.
Another lawmaker, Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., referenced Trump not being drafted in Vietnam in his tweet condemning the president’s remarks: “Col Bone Spurs cavalierly talking about the death of American troops,” he said.
“‘That’s the way it is.’ He just couldn’t care less,” Boyle said.
Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., who served in Iraq and Afghanistan as an Army ranger, told CNN he was “absolutely furious, because Donald Trump is very cavalier with other people’s lives.”
“He loves pounding his chest and acting tough and talking about the costs of war, but he knows nothing about the cost of war,” Crow said.
Trump’s statement was “an incredibly callous way for an American President to talk about the sacrifices that our servicemembers make,” Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, said. “Our men and women in uniform deserve better.”
In response to a request for comment from Straight Arrow News, White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said “Trump and all Americans grieve for our fallen heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for our Nation.”
“They represent the very best of our country — and we will never forget their service and sacrifice,” Wales added.
At a Pentagon briefing on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth argued that “the press only wants to make the president look bad” when reporting on the deaths of the U.S. service members.
“This is what the fake news misses. We’ve taken control of Iran’s airspace and waterways without boots on the ground,” Hegseth said. “We control their fate. But when a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it’s front-page news.”
After Hegseth’s remarks, The Atlantic wrote that there was “a stunned silence through the briefing room.” Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said in an interview with MS Now’s Jen Psaki that this was “dismissive” of Hegseth to say.
“When you think about the age of U.S. military service members, many of them, they have spouses, they have kids,” he said.
What we know about US service members who lost their lives
According to the Department of Defense, Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Fla.; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Neb.; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minn.; Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, and Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa were killed on March 1 during an unmanned aircraft system attack in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, Calif., was also at the scene of the attack and is believed to have died, though the DOD is waiting on a medical examiner’s identification.
Khork “felt a calling to serve his country,” his family said in a statement reported on by The New York Times. He first enlisted as a multiple launch rocket system/fire direction specialist in the National Guard in 2009, and in 2014 was commissioned as a military police officer in the Army Reserve. The Florida resident was deployed to Saudi Arabia in 2018, before going to Guantánamo Bay in 2021 and then Poland in 2024.
“He was deeply patriotic and took great pride in serving something greater than himself,” Khork’s family said. “He lived with purpose, loved deeply, and served honorably. His legacy will endure in the lives he touched, the example he set, and the love of country and family that defined him.”
Tietjens’ twin brother, Nicholas, told The New York Times that he was a “great leader” who had completed at least four tours in countries including Kuwait and Iraq.
Tietjens is survived by his wife, Shelly, and teenage son, Dylan, with whom he trained in martial arts. Julius Melegrito, the owner of Martial Arts International, where the family went, remembered Tietjens as calm, confident and soft-spoken, according to the NYT.
Derek Hoff, Amor’s brother, said her deployment to Kuwait was likely her last, following almost two decades in the military, The Times reported. The Army says Amor enlisted in the National Guard as a 92A (Automated Logistics Specialist) in 2005, transferred to the Army Reserve in 2006 and deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019.
“She knew what she signed up for, and she did it because she had a job and a duty,” Hoff said, noting that Amor’s possible retirement from the military was to spend more time with her 18-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter. The Associated Press wrote that she was an avid gardener who also liked rollerblading and bicycling with her daughter.
Declan Coady’s sister, Keira, said that he was “a rock in all of our lives” and “the most amazing brother and son my family could have asked for,” ABC News reported. Coady enlisted in the Army in 2023 and was posthumously promoted from specialist.
“I wish I could think of words beyond that he was smart and kind and amazing, but even if I were to throw in other words it still wouldn’t quite capture his spirit,” Keira said. Coady went to Drake University, according to a post from the school
O’Brien commissioned in the Army Reserve as a Signal Corps officer in 2012 and deployed to Kuwait in 2019, the Pentagon said. In August 2024, he was promoted to the rank of major. He worked for cybersecurity firm ProCircular and is survived by his wife; mother and father; brothers and sister, The Des-Moines Register reported.
Marzan’s brother, Vic, said he had a big heart and would do anything for anyone, CBS News Sacramento reported.
“My brother died for our country. He was a lifetime serviceman,” Vic Marzan said. “Loved his family and country.”
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
