Trump calls Iran war 'short term,' says it could 'be ended soon'

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday tried to assuage concerns his war with Iran could become another prolonged military campaign, calling it a “little excursion” that could be wrapped up “soon.” He also urged House Republicans to add several white-hot social issues to a voting overhaul measure as a trap for vulnerable Democrats.

The commander in chief used some repetition at the start of his remarks to a House Republican policy retreat in Florida by using the term “short term” several times in about 15 seconds. Earlier Monday, after oil prices soared before falling, he told a CBS News reporter the conflict was “very complete.”

“We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some people,” he said, referring to Iranian leaders. “And I think you’ll see it’s going to be a short-term excursion. How good is our military? Right? Amazing. How good. Short term. Short term.”

To be sure, he sent mixed signals about the war’s expected length.

Speaking first to GOP members, he stopped short of predicting the U.S. role in the conflict might end soon, saying: “We’ve already won in many ways, but we haven’t won enough. We go forward more determined than ever to achieve ultimate victory that will end this long-running danger once and for all.”

But when pressed by reporters, he predicted “it’s going to be ended soon.”

Fifty-four percent of respondents to a new NBC News poll said they disapprove of his handling of Iran, with 41 percent approving. Most respondents, 52 percent, said the U.S. should not have taken military action, while 41 percent said Trump should have attacked.

Here are three takeaways from Trump’s remarks to House Republicans.

‘Nobody has any idea’

Trump admitted that even he has no real idea who will be Iran’s next long-term leader as he spoke to GOP members then reporters at his Trump National Doral golf resort in Florida.

“Then we have new leaders and they’re gone,” he said, referring to American and Israeli military strikes that have killed a number of top Iranian officials. “And now nobody has any idea who the people are that are going to be the head of the country.”

While addressing reporters, he signaled he was leaning toward a sitting Iranian official taking power: “I like the idea of internal because it works well.” He cited Venezuela, where the vice president assumed power after U.S. forces detained and arrested President Nicolas Maduro.

Contending the U.S.-Israeli strikes have taken out most of the Islamic Republic’s navy, a large part of Iran’s drone program, and “80 percent” of its missiles and launchers, Trump declared the U.S. “will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated.”

But he did not define what that would mean on the ground amid slouching job approval numbers and underwater marks over the war in Iran.

The president and his team so far have offered a hodgepodge of reasons for the surprise war, with oil prices soaring Monday over fears of a prolonged conflict. Trump had been a noted opponent of so-called forever wars. Oil prices surged above the $100-per-barrel mark Monday, before ending the day around $90 per barrel.

Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner told Fox News Sunday he believes “there was no imminent threat.”

“And now we’re seeing the results. We’re seeing no matter what [Energy Secretary Chris Wright] says, gas prices have gone up 47 cents. Americans are paying $122 million dollars a day extra in gas coming right out of their pockets,” the Virginia Democrat said. “That combined with the declining job numbers, that combined with the stock market crashing going into this war without … the appropriate preparation or having made the case to the American public.”

‘Very soon’

The commander in chief last week said he would keep striking Iran as long as necessary, but his tone was different on Monday. He said the conflict could end “very soon.”

“Look, everything they have is gone, including their leadership. In fact, they have two levels of leadership. And even actually, as it turns out, more than that. But two levels of leadership are gone,” he told reporters.

“They have no navy, they have no air force, they have no anti-aircraft equipment. It’s all been blown up. They have no radar, they have no telecommunications, and they have no leadership. It’s all gone,” Trump said.

Some former GOP national security officials early last week said the president could have declared victory just a few days into the bombing. A week later, Trump suggested he might be close to doing just that.

“We could call it a tremendous success right now. … I could call it, or we could go further, and we’re going to go further,” he said. “But the big risk on that war has been over for three days. We wiped them out … in the first two days. When you think about it. It’s incredible.”

Saving the SAVE Act?

On a separate topic, Trump reiterated demands he made Sunday morning for changes to the Republican-crafted SAVE America Act that would likely end its legislative journey.

On Sunday morning, he fired off a social media post in which declared that he would not sign other legislation until a sweeping House-approved election operations overhaul measure landed on his desk. At the GOP retreat, he said that bill, the SAVE America Act, should be the “easiest to pass,” even though it lacks the votes in the Senate and appears to be stalled.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Monday poured cold water on the prospects of bringing the bill to the Senate using the talking filibuster, again pointing to the monthslong suck of precious floor time. He also blamed the online MAGA environment that has conducted a pressure campaign against leadership to bring the legislation to the floor.

“What people don’t realize is it’s [not just] unlimited debate, but it’s also unlimited amendments,” Thune said. “You have to have unified support, not only in support of the ultimate goal, which is the SAVE AMERICA Act, but on the process to be able to defeat amendments that would undo the legislation in the first place. You can’t find a piece of legislation in history that has passed that way.”

In a move that would all but assure its death in the Senate, Trump urged House GOP leaders to revamp the legislation to ban mail-in ballots, ban “men playing in women’s sports” and prohibit “transgender mutilation for our children.”

“We’re going for the gold,” Trump said. “I think the Senate has to approve it. I really do, I think, and they’re going to have to go [to] the filibuster, and maybe it’s going to be the talking filibuster, like the old days.

“It’ll guarantee the midterms,” he added. “If you don’t get it, big trouble, in my opinion.”

With that, the head of the Republican Party signaled he wants to force vulnerable Democrats into voting against voter ID and those hot-button social issues.

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(Savannah Behrmann contributed to this report.)