President Donald Trump made polarizing remarks on Wednesday as he traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for a dignified transfer ceremony honoring four U.S. service members killed during the ongoing conflict with Iran.
At the ceremony, Trump saluted the flag-draped transfer cases alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and met privately with the grieving families.
But before departing for Delaware aboard Air Force One, Trump defended the controversial military operation in Iran, saying all four of the fallen service members had fully supported it.
“They are indeed great heroes, actually,” Trump told reporters. “They said, and they, all of them said very strongly, ’We can’t let, cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”
The conflict has claimed the lives of 18 U.S. service members and cost taxpayers at least $37.5 billion so far.
