Donald Trump
Role at the time: President of the United States, answering reporters in the Oval Office
Response to this claim
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.
“Well, I'll tell you what, 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. ... So I can understand what he's saying. It's a military conflict, but it's very intermittent. I could see somebody not calling it a war.”
C-SPAN's clip of President Trump answering reporters' questions in the Oval Office the day after Vance's briefing. C-SPAN's summary says Trump does not view the fighting as a war and quotes his remark that it is small potatoes for the U.S.
Why we used this label
Trump endorses Vance's description. He says he can understand it, explains his own label by the size and intermittent pace of the fighting, and says he could see someone not calling it a war. His small potatoes remark also downplays the fighting, but the reference point is the label, so defends or excuses fits better than minimizes.