President Donald Trump ignited swift criticism on Sunday evening, March 1, after ignoring pressing questions about U.S. military action in Iran to instead commend newly placed statues in the White House Rose Garden, telling the press: “Incredible statues, you’ll see. Come take a look.”
The president arrived back in Washington from Mar-a-Lago on Sunday, a day after authorizing what the Pentagon has labeled “Operation Epic Fury” against Iran. The coordinated U.S.-Israeli strikes killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, as well as several top officials, including the nation’s defense minister and the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Three U.S. service members have been killed and five more seriously injured in the fighting.
As reporters pressed Trump about the mission’s goals and who he believed should lead Iran after Khamenei’s death, he paused to admire newly installed statues of Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin that were placed during his trip. When a reporter asked whether he had a message for the families of dead U.S. troops, Trump walked away without offering a reply.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reported that Trump declined to speak with journalists aboard Air Force One on the flight home from Florida, which departed from his usual habit. He did, however, give some phone interviews over the weekend as the operation progressed.
The statues had not yet been installed when Trump left for Texas on Friday. They are the latest updates to the Rose Garden, which Trump ordered renovated in June 2025.
Trump’s focus immediately sparked criticism online. Commenters contrasted his attention to garden decorations with the seriousness of mounting American casualties and an expanding conflict that has triggered Iranian reprisals across multiple Gulf nations.
The backlash grew Monday when U.S. Central Command confirmed that three American F-15E Strike Eagles were downed by Kuwaiti air defenses in a friendly fire incident late Sunday. All six aircrew members successfully ejected and are in stable condition. Earlier, Kuwait’s Ministry of Defense acknowledged that “several” U.S. jets had crashed.
Trump ordered the unexpected bombing campaign Saturday night after attending a black-tie event at Mar-a-Lago, where he was photographed dancing to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” The strikes killed Khamenei as well as Iran’s defense minister and the IRGC commander.
In a video message Sunday addressing the American deaths, Trump delivered a stark forecast: “And sadly, there will likely be more before it ends, that’s the way it is. But we’ll do everything possible where that won’t be the case.”
Trump, who received five draft deferments during the Vietnam War, did not rule out sending U.S. troops into Iran “if they were necessary.” He also warned that Iran would be completely destroyed if it targeted American leadership in retaliation.
Public support for the strikes remains weak. A Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted February 28–March 1 found that only 27% of Americans approved of the action, while 43% disapproved and 29% were uncertain. Even among Republicans, just 55% supported the strikes, and roughly a quarter believe Trump is too eager to use military force.
Confronted with the poll results, Trump dismissed them. “It’s not a question of polling. You cannot let Iran, which is a nation that has been run by crazy people, have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte voiced support for the operation during comments to Fox News. “There is no sliver of light between us,” he said, noting that European allies back the killing of Khamenei and efforts to weaken Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard vowed large-scale retaliation, declaring that “the most intense offensive operation in the history of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will begin in moments.” Airbus satellite imagery showed Khamenei’s complex in central Tehran heavily damaged by the strikes.
In February 2025, Trump reinstated his “maximum pressure” strategy toward Iran through a National Security Presidential Memorandum, laying the groundwork for the current confrontation. The full extent and timeline of Operation Epic Fury remain uncertain as the conflict enters its third day.
