President Donald Trump freewheeled through a string of falsehoods during a rambling address about his month-old war with Iran.
Speaking from the White House on Wednesday evening, the 79-year-old president said the “core objectives” of his campaign against Iran were “nearing completion” before addressing the 13 U.S. service members who have died in the conflict.
He said that at the dignified transfers for the slain troops, “every single one” of their relatives told him to press on with the war.
“We must honor them by completing the mission for which they gave their lives, and every single one of the people, their loved ones said, ‘Please, sir, please, finish the job,’” Trump said.
“Every one of them,” he repeated.
Trump made similar remarks after attending the first dignified transfer on March 7.
But a public official who overheard Trump’s meetings with the families told NBC News that they didn’t hear any of them urge Trump to “finish the job” in Iran.
Polls show a consistent majority of Americans, roughly 60 percent, disapprove of President Trump’s military action against Iran.
During his address, Trump also claimed that he built “the strongest economy in history,” and that there is “no inflation.”
In reality, the inflation rate stood at about 2.4 percent year-over-year in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
He also declared that the U.S. is “totally independent of the Middle East” on oil, claiming that the U.S. is fighting on the behalf of “allies” who rely on the region’s oil.
“We don’t have to be there. We don’t need their oil,” he said.
But roughly 5 percent of U.S. petroleum imports—largely crude oil—come from Saudi Arabia, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The U.S. imported 359,000 barrels of crude oil per day in January 2026, according to the EIA.
A little later in the speech, Trump appeared to give a softened version of his earlier claim, saying, the U.S. imports “almost no oil” through the Strait of Hormuz—the vital Middle East waterway that is being blockaded by Iran.
In his attempt to explain why the U.S. is “positioned” to go to war, the billionaire president proclaimed to have built “the strongest economy in history.”
However, consumer confidence dropped to its lowest level since 2014 in January, according to The Economist, and the unemployment rate sits at 4.3 percent.
Trump’s approval rating for handling the economy has slumped to a measly 31 percent, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.
Wednesday’s address was the first since the commander-in-chief joined Israel to strike Iran on February 28. It lasted for 18 minutes and 39 seconds.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
