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A Republican member of Congress opened herself up to social media ridicule on Wednesday when she tried to excuse President Donald Trump for launching a war on Iran after promising “no new wars” during the 2024 campaign.
During an interview on Newsmax, Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) was asked how she would respond to Americans who are “sick and tired of this war,” particularly people who voted for Trump because he promised to end wars, not start wars, and they’re experiencing war fatigue.
Tenney responded by comparing the war on Iran to other U.S. wars.
“Well, it’s not been very long,” she said. “We were in Iraq and Afghanistan for over 20 years under a couple of different presidents, so, uh, this is a very short-term conflict, and this is all about lasting peace. It’s not a forever war.”
Tenney also insisted Trump ― who, earlier in the day, claimed the U.S. had been secretly taking “millions of barrels of oil” from Iran ― was “trying to rid the world of a terrorist regime that has been wreaking havoc on our own military” and threatening to make a nuclear weapon.
“It’s time for them to go, and it’s time to have peace and prosperity,” she said.
NEWSMAX: What do you say to Americans who are sick and tired of this war? They voted for President Trump because he promised to end wars, not start wars, and they're experiencing war fatigue
REP. CLAUDIA TENNEY: Well, it's not been very long. We were in Iraq and Afghanistan for… pic.twitter.com/bZESjOPE2i
Tenney probably hoped people would ignore the fact that she didn’t actually answer the question. But that didn’t happen on social media, where many critics ridiculed the idea that shorter wars were somehow better than longer conflicts:
It must be George Orwell Day in the Iran War saga.
Rep. Tenney repeats President Trump's talking points that we were in Afghanistan War for 20 years and so how can any American complain because we've been at this for "only" three months?
Then the claim we are seeking "lasting… https://t.co/4ejXbbaJh4
This is the worst possible talking point for Trump’s war and I have no idea why they all keep using it.
Trump said when this started the whole thing would be wrapped up in 4-6 weeks with unconditional surrender and regime change to a pro-US government in Iran. https://t.co/mESCrTH4Ux
Over 50,000 troops are deployed across the region. We are losing aircraft and firing missiles and drones while they tell us to stop complaining because it’s only been a three month failure. Absolute monsters. https://t.co/T3IKut06HP
— Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) June 10, 2026Very short term war in Iran?
Does she have a crystal ball?
He's prolonging it imho -- more killing last night.
Today he says he's stealing their oil ... so, stick around? https://t.co/3eisoFWrEM
Some tagged Tenney to remind her that she didn’t provide a direct answer to the question.
She responded to one person who asked her to answer the question about how the war in Iran jibes with Trump’s “no new wars” promise, but she still wouldn’t answer:
For years, the Iranian regime has beaten, tortured, and murdered its own people while chanting “Death to America.”@POTUS is putting American national security first and sending a simple message: America will not back down from a regime that threatens our homeland, our citizens,… pic.twitter.com/HLBcCwq678
— Rep. Claudia Tenney (@RepTenney) June 10, 2026
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