Trump's '13 People' Remark Sparks Online Fury — Did He Mix Up Presidents?

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News (1 / 1) 22.05.2026 07:25 / Torben

Donald Trump's latest comments about U.S. military losses in the Iran conflict have stunned viewers: his comparisons, numbers and a confused name-drop set off a torrent of reaction online. Read on to discover the full story!

The line that lit the fuse

In a May 20 interview the 79-year-old president said "we've lost, so far, 13 people" and argued "somebody else would've lost 100,000 people." He also referenced "two major wars" and claimed the U.S. had "taken over Venezuela" and "essentially took over Iran," remarks that many found baffling or misleading.

Who did he mean?

Trump appeared to conflate leaders while discussing past events, invoking Obama when referring to the 2021 airport bombing in Kabul that killed 13 service members — an episode that occurred under President Joe Biden's watch. He added that those were "thirteen very good people" whose families he said he knew.