WASHINGTON — President Trump traveled to Delaware on Wednesday morning to take part in the dignified transfer of four US service members killed in recent days during the war with Iran, describing the solemn presidential duty to reporters as “one of the hardest things to do.”
The visit to Dover Air Force Base comes as Trump signals he may broaden the US military response to Iranian strikes on American forces and international shipping, even as prominent Republicans, among them House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), press for the conflict to be brought to a swift close.
“We’re going to honor them,” Trump said while en route to the ceremony, where he was expected to meet with Gold Star families. “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.”
Asked what he would tell the grieving relatives, Trump said his message would be: “We love you. We love your child,” adding that in such moments “all you can do is draw out your heart.” The president also issued a stark warning to Tehran, saying Iran is “going to pay a big price” and claiming it was “being decimated.”
Three of the fallen service members were killed when an Iranian missile struck a military base in Jordan. A fourth died in northern Iraq during the controlled detonation of an Iranian drone that had been brought down.
The Jordan attack claimed the lives of 25-year-old Tyler James Feehan of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and 19-year-old Isabella Gonzales of Carrollton, Texas. The third soldier killed is believed to be 28-year-old Angel S. Rampersad of Ozone Park, NY, whose remains are also set to be returned Wednesday.
Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Spring Lake, NC, was the service member who died in Iraq.
Before leaving Washington, Trump brushed aside polling indicating that a sizable majority of Americans oppose the Iran 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.”
