President Donald Trump is under pressure to minimize the cost of Operation Epic Fury, his expanding conflict against Iran.
The Department of War confirmed this week the identities of the six U.S. service members killed in action so far: Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Iowa; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of California; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of Minnesota; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Nebraska; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Iowa.
The service members were killed on Sunday when an Iranian drone struck their command center, a temporary building near a civilian port in Kuwait. The command center was miles away from the U.S. Army base in Kuwait. Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell described the command center as a “secure facility fortified with 6-foot walls.”
As the conflict enters its second week, the human cost of the war — and how it is perceived at home — is emerging as the central political challenge facing the president.
In a Reuters-Ipsos poll conducted since the start of the operation, only 27% of respondents approved of Trump’s decision to start striking Iranian targets, compared to 43% who disapproved of it.
At the same time, 55% of Republican respondents approved of the operation, while 13% disapproved. Those respondents were then asked what could change their opinion, with service members “being killed or injured” the only option that prompted a plurality of Republicans to tell pollsters that would make them “more likely to oppose” the strikes, 11%-42%.
In a text message exchange with the Washington Examiner, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt underscored that Trump will attend the dignified transfer movement of the service members when they arrive at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Saturday, during which their bodies will be moved from an aircraft to waiting vehicles.
“He will be attending the dignified transfer and meeting with the families,” Leavitt told the Washington Examiner.
Leavitt did not confirm whether Trump had spoken with the families of the service members, but when asked how the president is grappling with the loss of life, she replied: “It’s his top priority always.”
It is a softer approach than the one Leavitt adopted when she criticized CNN for asking during a press briefing this week whether it is “the position of this administration that the press should not prominently cover the deaths of U.S. service members.”
“No, it’s the position of this administration that the press in this room and the press across the country should accurately report on the success of Operation Epic Fury and the damage it is doing to the rogue Iranian regime that has threatened the lives of every single American in this room,” she told reporters. “The press only wants to make the president look bad. That’s a fact.”
Earlier, War Secretary Pete Hegseth scrutinized the news media for covering “a few drones” getting through U.S. defenses or when other “tragic things happen” as “front page news.”
“I get it: the press only wants to make the president look bad, but try for once to report the reality,” Hegseth said during his own briefing.
Leavitt, however, reiterated that Hegseth “cares deeply about our war fighters and our men and women in uniform.” The Secretary of War is a former Army National Guardsman who was awarded a Bronze Star for his service in Afghanistan.
In a separate statement, White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales told the Washington Examiner, “Trump and all Americans grieve for our fallen heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.”
“They represent the very best of our country – and we will never forget their service and sacrifice,” Wales wrote. “They gave their lives for a courageous mission that President Trump will continue in order to eliminate the threats posed by the sinister Iranian regime and make our nation and world stronger, safer, and more free than ever before.”
The Trump administration’s messaging strategy may be challenged again in the coming days if the U.S. claims responsibility for the strike against a school in Iran that Iranian state media reports killed almost 200 people.
Democratic strategist Jim Manley compared the Trump administration’s messaging to that of former President George W. Bush’s counterpart during his war on terrorism.
“This administration hasn’t taken the time to make the case to the American people for why we attacked Iran, given mixed reasons for doing so, including regime change, and failed to even undergo basic preparations for what happens after the initial attacks,” Manley told the Washington Examiner. “Hopefully it will be over soon, but after the Secretary of Defense’s clownish performance, who the hell knows.”
But the political pressure on the administration is not limited to casualties. Operation Epic Fury is also beginning to carry economic consequences at home.
The price of crude oil has spiked to $90 per barrel amid market turmoil driven by supply and shipping problems. The administration is also weighing asking Congress to approve roughly $50 billion to fund the war and replenish the nation’s weapons stockpile.e.
As Trump prepares for the dignified transfers on Saturday, the president is also bracing for higher gas prices, with the average cost of a gallon on Friday at $3.32, up from $2.98 a week ago.
Trump is considering sending the U.S. Navy to the contested Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, to protect oil tankers traversing the region. He’s also directing the U.S. Development Finance Corporation to provide political risk insurance to oil carriers and cargo ships operating in and around the Persian Gulf “at a very reasonable price,” according to Leavitt.
“It speaks to why this action was so necessary, that ultimately the energy industry is going to benefit from the president’s actions with respect to Iran: because Iran will no longer be controlling the Strait of Hormuz and restricting the free flow of energy, which, as you all know, controls 20% of the world’s global oil supply,” Leavitt told reporters this week.
TRUMP SAYS THERE WILL BE NO DEAL WITH IRAN OUTSIDE OF ‘UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER’
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has been unclear about Operation Epic Fury’s aim, with the president writing on social media on Friday that he is pursuing “unconditional surrender” from Iran.
“After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before,” he wrote on Truth Social. “IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE. ‘MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!).’”
For Trump, the question may ultimately be whether the American public continues to support the operation as the human cost of the conflict rises.