The president dropped by a retreat at his Doral golf club to sell the Iran war and pump up Republican lawmakers ahead of the midterm elections.
Donald Trump demands Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender’
President Donald Trump demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” in a social media post.
Doral, FL — President Donald Trump cast the war with Iran as a “little excursion” during a retreat for House Republicans, portraying the ongoing U.S. bombing campaign as a necessity.
“We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some evil,” Trump told Republican lawmakers and donors in an apparent reference to the conflict. “And I think it’s going to be a short-term excursion.”
Trump dropped by the retreat being held at his Miami-area golf club to pump up GOP lawmakers, whose support he’ll need to pass a bill supplementing the Pentagon’s budget if he opts to continue his Iran strikes. Congressional Republicans have overwhelmingly backed the war, but polling shows most Americans oppose Trump’s handling of the conflict.
The U.S. and Israel have killed hundreds of Iranians, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. At least 175 died in an attack on a girls’ school. Seven U.S. soldiers have also perished.
Trump is fending off a revolt from some in the MAGA movement over multiple military attacks on foreign countries, including recently deposing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, after he campaigned against endless wars.
The president noted that past military conflicts have dogged his predecessors, mentioning former President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and Jimmy Carter’s handling of the Iran hostage crisis.
“It cost him the election,” Trump said of Carter. But the president said his military operations in Iran and Venezuela have been different.
“We’ve done a real job. We got all good ones,” he said.
The president’s eagerness to put a short time limit on the war comes as polls suggest there is little public appetite for an extended conflict. An NBC News survey released March 4 found that while 77% of Republicans support striking Iran, 54% of Americans oppose Trump’s handling of the issue.
At a news conference after the retreat Trump said the war would not be over this week. “No, but soon,” he said. “I think soon,” he added when pressed.
Trump said in his earlier remarks that Iran was a “dark cloud” hanging over Israel and the region.
“I think they were looking to take over the Middle East,” Trump said. “Within a week, they were going to attack us.”
‘Everybody wants to rule the world’
The music inside the GOP conference was festive: Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” blared ahead of Trump’s remarks, and earlier Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” But morale inside the House Republican caucus has been depressed, with Democrats − who need to pick up a net total of three seats to hold a majority in the lower chamber of Congress − looking likely to gain control of the House after the November elections.
At least three dozen Republican lawmakers are leaving Congress. Some are seeking different offices. Others are retiring. A couple have been defeated in their primary elections. Last week, Rep. Darrell Issa, also of California, added his name to this list. Issa would have been facing a tough fight in a newly-redrawn congressional district that was designed to give Democrats the upper hand.
Republicans’ thin majority took another hit as California Rep. Kevin Kiley announced the same afternoon as Trump’s remarks that he was leaving the GOP to become an independent. Kiley said he would continue to caucus with Republicans as he tries to retain his seat.
Sitting presidents usually suffer losses in Congress in midterm elections: Republicans lost the House midway through Trump’s first term, and they retook control two years after Biden took office.
At the retreat before Trump arrived, House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain acknowledged that Republicans were bearing the weight of the Iran war and public frustration with the economy.
“I don’t know about you, but history’s been wrong a lot this year,” McClain said, invoking Trump’s 2024 comeback bid and the GOP’s passage in 2025 of its massive cuts to taxes and spending. “I think we are going to defy history again.”
After touting his actions in Iran, Trump turned to affordability.
“Our message is simple: Democrats created the high prices and our policies are totally ending them,” he said.
That message has been complicated by the fact that Trump’s tariffs have increased prices. It could become a harder sell as gasoline prices soar due to the Iran war constricting oil supply.
Trump continued to tout his tariffs, though, saying he used them as leverage to drive deals that “no other president could have done.”
Opening for Trump at the event, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, offered a similar take.
“He is the man for the moment,” Johnson said in his introduction of Trump, after noting he receives calls from Trump in the early hours of the morning. “Anytime this president sees a problem, he jumps right in to fix it.”