US Politics
Stephen Miller celebrates Trump’s ‘politically incorrect’ Iran war
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The U.S. military under President Donald Trump is now free to fight wars without its hands tied behind its back, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller has claimed.
Miller celebrated the joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran as “politically incorrect” and lashed out at what he called the “woke Pentagon” under previous administrations.
“What you’re seeing right now … is a military under President Trump’s leadership that is not fighting politically correct. That isn’t fighting with its hands tied behind its back,” Miller said.
”One of the reasons why people lost faith in the military and the capacity to use that military to defend us is because we had a woke Pentagon. Because we had a military who at the very highest level – not the war-fighters – was forced to fight a less than full fight.”
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The reported death toll from the US-Israeli strikes has topped 1,000, including Iran’s leader of 47 years, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and 170 people at a girls primary school in an incident the White House has said is being investigated.
Miller’s remarks echo those of Defense Secretary Pete Hesgeth who said on Monday that the U.S. was doing things “on our terms.”
“No stupid rules of engagement, no nation-building quagmire, no democracy-building exercise, no politically-correct wars. We fight to win,” Hegseth said.
The combative remarks from senior figures in the Trump administration come despite polls revealing the majority of American voters disapprove of how the president is handling the unfolding war on Iran.
A new Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategies poll conducted for NBC News found 54 percent of American voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of the situation in Iran and 41 percent approve.
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The rapid descent into an unpopular war comes despite Trump campaigning and winning the 2024 election on an “America First” agenda. During his victory speech, he said: “I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars.”
Earlier this week, Trump said U.S. military involvement in Iran could last around “four to five weeks,” but added: “We have capability to go far longer than that.”
But on Monday, Hegseth suggested Washington would not seek to put a time limit on U.S. military intervention, telling reporters: “President Trump has all the latitude in the world to talk about how long it may or may not take.”
In an update on Wednesday, Hegseth boasted to the media of the success the strikes on Iran have had so far.
“We are only four days into this, and the results have been incredible, historic really … only the United States of America could lead this.”
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“I stand before you today with one unmistakable message about Operation Eric Fury – America is winning decisively, devastatingly and without mercy. They are toast, and they know it.
“If you threaten Americans anywhere on this earth, we will hunt you down without apology and without hesitation and we will kill you.”
“We are not defenders any more … “We are warriors, trained to kill the enemy and break their will.”
He also told the military not to question the Trump administration’s strategic decisions, telling troops “don’t listen to the noise”, to ignore the “fake news” and to “stay focused”.
Asked about the strike which hit a primary school for girls, killing 170, Hegseth said: “We’re investigating it”.