Massie calls the "semantics" over the word war "an insult to the men and women fighting the war"
U.S. representative from Kentucky (R), speaking to the Washington Examiner
“But the vice president and other sophisticated advisers recognize that to acknowledge it’s a war is to acknowledge they’re in violation of the 1973 War Powers Act, which allows them only 90 days to engage before they must withdraw or get congressional approval ... I think playing these semantics is an insult to the men and women fighting the war and to those who’ve already sacrificed ... Why not attempt to get the constitutionally and legally mandated congressional approval so they can call a war a war?”
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
The Washington Examiner's report on comments Massie made to the outlet on Thursday, September 3, 2026, the day of Vance's briefing. The article quotes Massie directly.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Massie spoke to the Washington Examiner on the day of Vance's briefing. He said Trump is less careful with his rhetoric than Vance and routinely says the U.S. is winning the war.
After the quotation
The Washington Examiner reported that Massie has consistently voted to curb the president's ability to engage in military action.
How this statement is classified
Responding to: Vice President JD Vance said he would not call the U.S. fight with Iran a war, saying there is no active shooting right now and that major combat operations lasted about six weeks.
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
Massie rejects the not-a-war description as semantics that insult service members and says it is meant to avoid the War Powers Act. He goes beyond disputing the label to denouncing it, so condemns fits better than challenges the characterization.
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- People and groups discussed
- JD Vance
Is the U.S. fight with Iran a war, as Vice President Vance says it is not?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
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““Small potatoes.” That’s how Donald Trump feels about the war he started in Iran. Tell that to the families of the 18 troops we’ve lost, the hundreds of wounded servicemembers, and the Americans suffering every single day from record high prices. There's nothing small about it.”Read statement