IN BRIEF
- The US president has described the nation's war with Iran as a "military conflict" saying it was "small potatoes".
- The Trump administration's popularity is falling as the conflict enters its seventh month.
US President Donald Trump has downplayed his administration's six-month war against Iran as the midterm elections linger.
Speaking on Friday, Trump described the war as a "military conflict", saying it was "small potatoes".
"It's not a big thing," he said.
"A lot of people don't call it a war. I call it a military conflict because it's small potatoes for us.
"It's not a big thing. We did Venezuela and we did this."
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Trump's comments come a day after Vice President JD Vance said he wouldn't call the conflict "war".
"I wouldn't call it a war. Right now, there is no active shooting," he said.
Vance also argued that major combat had only lasted six weeks.
United States Study Centre's director of research Jared Mondschein said Trump and Vance's choice of language was strategic.
"They're trying to distance themselves from an exceedingly unpopular action," he said.
He said not describing the conflict as "military action" instead of war minimises their investment.
"They simply want to minimise both the US commitment as well as their ties to it."
While the administration is severing its ties to the conflict, Trump said it has been a "tremendous success".
"I don't think it matters what you call it, what matters is the fact we have had a tremendous success — we've stopped Iran from having a nuclear weapon."
Despite this, Americans are becoming increasingly frustrated by the conflict.
"The majority of Americans agree that this has driven up prices and inflation. It's driven up prices and worsened the affordability crisis," Mondschein said.
He said the US government never explained to Americans its "rationale for the war".
"The number one thing that went wrong is they over-promised and under-delivered. They also did not explain their rationale for the war, or articulate the necessity of going to war," he said.
"They did not explain their sort of metrics of success. They did not explain what it would take for them to leave, and they also did not execute a coherent plan."
Mondschein said a "sizeable percentage of Trump voters" are also losing faith in the conflict — and that it will impact "Republicans in the November midterms".
While "most midterms don't go well for the sitting president", he said this year's midterm elections are shaping up to go "exceedingly unwell" for Trump because of his dwindling popularity.
"It's pretty common for the party in power in the White House and the executive branch to lose the House of Representatives in the midterms — that happens more often than not," he explained.
"The question is the Senate, and right now the latest polling indicates that it is more likely than not that the Democrats will also take the Senate."
He said if the Democrats hold both the Senate and the House of Representatives, they can "make life exceedingly difficult for the Trump administration".
Mondschein said the "end of the Trump era is inevitable" — he believes cracks are already showing.
"We are seeing more and more republicans distancing themselves from Donald Trump because they don't see it as politically advantageous to be seen alongside a president whose approval rating is in the 30s."
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