Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) criticized President Donald Trump after the president highlighted a lower U.S. military death toll in the Iran conflict compared with past wars.

Trump Highlights Iran Conflict

On Tuesday, Trump shared a post on Truth Social comparing U.S. military casualties across several conflicts, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam and Korea. He highlighted the Iran military conflict, writing: "Iran Military Conflict: 4 months, 18 DEAD." Trump's post argued that the number of U.S. deaths in the Iran conflict was lower than previous wars. He compared the figures with the Afghanistan war, which lasted 20 years and resulted in about 2,000 U.S. military deaths, and the Iraq war, which recorded about 4,600 U.S. military deaths over nine years. He also cited the Vietnam War, which resulted in 58,220 U.S. deaths and the Korean War, which recorded 36,574 U.S. deaths.

Schumer Criticizes Trump's War Death Comparison

Schumer responded on X, criticizing Trump's framing of the casualty figures and accusing him of treating military deaths as a political victory. He wrote, "Bragging about 'only' 18 brave US service members being killed in a reckless and illegal war he started is beneath contempt and a new low even for the likes of Donald Trump."

US-Iran Conflict

The Pentagon raised its estimate of the U.S. cost of the war against Iran and Israel to $37.5 billion, as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended a request for nearly $70 billion in additional war funding during a Senate hearing. Last week, investors tracked escalating U.S.-Iran tensions as military strikes raised concerns over American casualties and potential disruptions to global oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. conducted a ninth consecutive night of strikes, targeting Iranian military capabilities linked to attacks on commercial vessels. The conflict intensified after Iranian strikes in Jordan killed two U.S. service members, left one missing and injured four others. The deaths brought the U.S. military toll to 16 since the conflict began on Feb. 28, marking the deadliest day for American troops in the campaign.

Democrats Criticize Trump Over Iran War

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) criticized Trump's Iran campaign, citing casualties, rising prices and higher gas costs. Earlier, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that more U.S. casualties were expected, saying losses were an unavoidable part of military operations. Former Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen had cautioned that the conflict could continue for years.