Photo: Alamy
President Donald Trump said Monday that Gold Star families who lost loved ones in the recent U.S. military operation against Iran urged him to “finish the job.”
The president met Saturday with the families of the first six American service members killed in the conflict during a dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
The deaths bring the total number of U.S. combat-related fatalities in the conflict with Iran to seven. Another service member has also died in an incident classified as noncombat-related. An eighth military member died in a non-combat-related medical incident in Kuwait, named as Maj. Sorffly Davius of New York.
Speaking during a news conference in Doral, Florida, President Trump was asked how many American deaths he was willing to accept in the ongoing conflict.
“When you have conflicts like this, you always have death,” President Trump said. “I was at Dover. I met the parents, and they were unbelievable people.”
According to President Trump, the families shared a common message.
“They all had one thing in common. They said to me one thing, every single one: ‘Finish the job. Sir, please finish the job,’” he said.
Earlier in the day, Trump told House Republicans the same story while addressing their annual caucus retreat.
“They all said one thing to me: ‘Make sure you win, sir. Make sure you win,’” President Trump told lawmakers.
The president said the families delivered their messages individually but expressed the same sentiment.
“They were separate, but everybody said the same thing: ‘Make sure you win,’” he said.
The president said the United States had already achieved progress in the conflict but vowed to continue the mission until the threat posed by Iran is eliminated.
“We will,” Trump said. “We’ve already won in many ways, but we haven’t won enough.”
