On Monday, March 23, President Donald Trump did something unusual at a roundtable on public safety that raised eyebrows; he pointed the finger at one of his own top officials when the talk turned to the grinding conflict with Iran.
President Trump hinted it was not his idea to start the ongoing war with Iran, whose effects are biting. “I called Pete, I called General Dan Caine, I called a lot of our great people,” Trump said, according to video from the event.
“And I said, ‘We have a problem in the Middle East.’ Iran has been a purveyor of terror for decades… and they’re very close to having a nuclear weapon.”
Turning to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was sitting nearby, Trump added: “Pete… you were the first one to speak up, and you said, ‘Let’s do it, because you can’t let them have a nuclear weapon.’”
The moment, captured during what was dubbed a discussion on crime and safety at the Memphis Air National Guard Base, has fueled fresh questions about whether the administration is starting to distance itself from a military campaign that is now nearly a month old and showing few signs of a clean finish.
U.S. and Israel forces launched Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28 with a barrage of airstrikes aimed at Iran’s nuclear sites, missile stockpiles, defense factories, and navy.
The opening salvos were dramatic: explosions rocked Tehran, and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was reported killed in one of the early attacks.
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Pentagon officials boasted of hitting thousands of targets, destroying scores of Iranian vessels, and crippling Tehran’s ability to project power.
Hegseth himself has been the administration’s most visible cheerleader. In repeated briefings, he has vowed to “finish this,” describing the mission as “laser-focused” on eliminating Iran’s missile threat, its naval fleet, and any path to a nuclear bomb.
Yet on the ground, or rather, in the air, the war has settled into a costly slog. Iran continues to fire ballistic missiles and drones at U.S. positions and Israeli targets, while its proxies stir trouble across the region.
American munitions stocks are being drawn down faster than many expected. More than 10 U.S. service members have died, including in a refueling plane crash during combat operations that claimed six lives.
A CBS News/YouGov survey found 60 percent of Americans now oppose the conflict, with 57 percent saying it is going “somewhat badly” or “very badly” for the United States.
An Emerson College poll showed 47 percent opposed versus 40 percent in favor. Even among Republicans, enthusiasm has cooled while the weeks stretch on without a decisive victory.
Is Trump shifting blame?
Democrats on Capitol Hill are expected to describe this as an attempt to shift blame, even as the conflict drags into what many fear may become a prolonged entanglement.
On social media, Trump’s defenders argue that he was simply giving credit where it was due. They point out that the administration has long described the strikes as a response to decades of Iranian aggression, proxy attacks on U.S. forces, and the immediate need to prevent a nuclear breakout.
It is the public domain that Trump has spent years cultivating an image as the decisive leader who ends endless wars, not starts them.
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During his first term, he avoided major new conflicts in the Middle East. Now, in his second term, the U.S. finds itself locked in direct combat with Iran, together with discussions reportedly underway about sending thousands more troops to secure key chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz or even Kharg Island, Iran’s critical oil export hub.
The president did offer a small olive branch in Memphis, announcing a temporary pause in strikes on certain major energy and electricity targets while negotiation channels remain open.
But he made clear the core demands have not changed: no nuclear Iran, no more missiles threatening the region, and an end to Tehran’s support for terrorism.
Trump says America will not walk away until the job is done. But the president’s own words in Memphis suggest he recognizes the political risks of owning every aspect of a war that, so far, has delivered more questions than victories.
The big question remains: Has America lost the Iran War?
