Trump Denies He Pledged No New Wars: "Why Would I Have Built The Strongest Military In The World?"

President Trump denied on Meet the Press on Sunday that he campaigned on a firm pledge to avoid "endless" wars, even as his administration reportedly sought a deal to end hostilities with Iran after the United States and Israel began war there on February 28.

The interview, taped the previous Friday at Custer Farms in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, put Trump's past "no new wars" message against his current defense of the Iran conflict. It ended when Kristen Welker pushed back on his claims about election fraud, with Trump saying he had "had enough" and walking out.

NBC News reporters also published a separate fact-check of the interview, saying Trump made a series of false, misleading, or exaggerated comments during the broadcast.

Welker pressed Trump on whether the war in Iran undercut the message he had used for years with voters. Trump rejected that framing and responded: "I didn't guarantee no war. Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?"

But Trump's past remarks gave critics and supporters a long paper trail to examine. In his January 2021 farewell address, he said he was "especially proud to be the first president in decades who has started no new wars."

While campaigning in Pennsylvania in 2024, he said, "I will not send you to fight and die in stupid foreign wars that never end."

He repeated the message after winning in 2024. In his victory speech, Trump told supporters, "I'm not going to start a war. I'm going to stop wars."

The Iran strikes have targeted military and government sites and assassinated Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Trump has described the conflict differently, calling the Iran war a "military exercise" as fighting around the Strait of Hormuz intensified.

In March, Trump told a National Republican Congressional Committee dinner that "they don't like the word war because you're supposed to get approval," adding, "So, I'll use the word 'military operation.' It's a military decimation."

The backlash after the June 7 broadcast was immediate. The exchange rippled quickly across social media and political commentary, with the "no new wars" denial becoming one of the day's dominant flashpoints.

NBC News national security managing editor Carol Lee noted the frustration visible in Trump's answers, observing that he repeated "Vietnam took 19 years" five times during the interview – a sign, she suggested, of the pressure he is under to produce a deal and bring gas prices down.

Axios called the NBC interview one of two fights "likely to follow Trump this week" – the scope of the Iran operation, and whether taxpayer money should go to people he describes as victims of political prosecution.

On X, reactions moved quickly. One user wrote, "No new wars was literally a central theme of his campaign."

Another posted, "SO, America Firsters, not only did he lie for your votes and betray you...now he's gaslighting you and telling you he NEVER MADE YOU THOSE PROMISES."

Mediaite listed the "no new wars" exchange as the first of the five most stunning moments from the interview.

The setting added another strange layer to the broadcast. The interview in the Wisconsin barn was interrupted several times by technical problems and by heavy rain hitting the metal roof.

The breaking point came when Welker challenged Trump's California election-fraud claims – "But sir, that's not evidence" – and Trump erupted, calling NBC, ABC, CBS, and CNN all "crooked." Welker calmly replied, "To be fair, I'm not crooked." Trump shot back, "You're either crooked or you're stupid," then declared he'd "had enough," pulled his mic off his lapel, tossed it to the floor, and walked out.