US President Donald Trump described himself and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “war heroes“ on Tuesday, referring to the airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June, “Politico“ reported, News.bg.
“He's a war hero. I guess I am,“ Trump said in an interview with conservative host Mark Levin. “Nobody cares. But I am. I mean, I sent those planes.“ The president was likely referring to the attack he ordered on Iran's underground nuclear facilities in June in an effort to slow Tehran's nuclear program.
Netanyahu has been the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court since last November for alleged war crimes in Gaza. More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the besieged coastal enclave during the Israeli military's offensive, which began after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people.
Trump has never fought in an actual war and has not served in the military. He received five deferments from military service during the Vietnam War, including a medical discharge after being diagnosed with "bone spurs in his heels" at 22 years old.
In 2015, Trump made headlines when he said that Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, who had spent more than five years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, was “not a war hero”.