Donald Trump Makes Awkward Slip of the Tongue While Promoting Iran War

During a speech at the National Republican Congressional Committee’s fundraising dinner on Wednesday, March 25, a seemingly confused President Donald Trump perplexed onlookers by attempting to rebrand his ongoing military conflict with Iran.

Trump explicitly stated he was avoiding the word "war" to bypass potential legal requirements for Congressional approval.

The administration has instead used terms like "kinetic conflict" or "combat operation" to describe the offensive that began on February 28.

"I won’t use the word ‘war’ because they say, if you use the word war, that’s maybe not a good thing to do,” the president said. “They don’t like the word ‘war,’ because you’re supposed to get approval, so I’ll use the word ‘military operation,’ which is really what it is.”

Later in the same speech, the 79-year-old POTUS slipped up and said, “The war essentially ended a few days after we went in.”

The War Powers Resolution of 1973 (or War Powers Act) is a federal law restricting the president’s power to commit U.S. armed forces to armed conflict without congressional authorization. It requires notification within 48 hours of troop deployment and mandates troop withdrawal within 60–90 days unless Congress declares war or authorizes action.

Congress, controlled by Republicans, recently voted against war powers resolutions intended to halt military action against Iran initiated by the president. The House rejected the measure 212-219, and the Senate defeated a similar resolution 47-53, allowing the strikes to continue without new congressional authorization.

Trump has offered conflicting goals for the conflict, ranging from stopping nuclear development and securing oil routes to explicit calls for "regime change" after the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Critics have noted the White House is using "sizzle reels" and video-game-style imagery on social media to package the conflict as a digital spectacle rather than a traditional war.

They also blasted Trump for his attempts to avoid using the word 'war' to describe, well, war.

"I say war because it sure looks like a war and Trump keeps calling it a war, but Congress never declared it a war, and MAGA was promised no new wars,” quipped late-night host Stephen Colbert.

The rebranding effort follows a broader initiative from late 2025, in which Trump issued an executive order to rename the Department of Defense to its historical title, the Department of War.

Trump has frequently claimed the war is "won" or that Iran is "defeated militarily," despite ongoing Iranian missile strikes targeting Tel Aviv and U.S. bases.

He has also used the word “excursion” to describe the military action, confusing it with the proper word “incursion.”

Trump, whose cognitive and physical health have come under intense focus lately, claimed this week that talks with Iran were yielding "great progress." At the same time, Iranian officials have flatly denied any direct or indirect contact with the U.S.