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Lutnick apology sparks backlash
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick apologized on Thursday after he said on television that no Americans had died in the war with Iran, acknowledging that 18 service members have been killed and that he was thinking about Venezuela when he made the statement.
“"I misspoke. Eighteen members of our military have died"”
In a post on X, Lutnick said, "I misspoke. Eighteen members of our military have died," and he added that he was "thinking about the Venezuelan military operation where no service members died," Reuters reported from Washington.
The dispute escalated after President Donald Trump defended Lutnick on Truth Social, writing, "Sec. Lutnick had Venezuela on his mind when he said nobody was killed. 18 people were killed in Iran!"
Reuters also reported that Lutnick made the earlier remarks during an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, framing the administration’s approach as "an economic choke-out" while saying there had been "There haven't been American deaths."
The Hill reported that Lutnick apologized again on Thursday, saying, "I misspoke. 18 members of our military have died," and he described the error as thinking about Venezuela, where "no service members died."
Trump, CNBC, and the numbers
The controversy began with Lutnick’s CNBC comments on Wednesday while he was attending the Group of 20 finance summit in North Carolina, where he said, "There haven't been American deaths," and described the Iran approach as "an economic choke-out."
Trump then posted on Truth Social, writing, "Sec. Lutnick had Venezuela on his mind when he said nobody was killed," and he added, "18 people were killed in Iran!"
The Hill said Lutnick later acknowledged the mistake on Thursday, posting on X that he had misspoken and that he was thinking about Venezuela, where US forces captured Nicolás Maduro in January with minimal US casualties.
Reuters reported that to date the U.S. has reported 18 military personnel killed and more than 750 wounded, while The Hill said "Eighteen service members have died since March" and "More than 750 others have been wounded."
The New Republic and MyNorthwest both tied the episode to broader concerns about the war with Iran, with MyNorthwest noting Trump fact-checked Lutnick and Reuters describing the apology as a correction to the earlier claim of no American deaths.
Benefits, war framing, and review
Democracy Now! reported that the Air Force is reviewing the case of a Gold Star widow from Alabama who said she was deemed ineligible for additional benefits after her husband’s death because Congress had not officially declared U.S. attacks on Iran as a "war."
“"because Congress had not officially declared U.S. attacks on Iran as a “war.”"”
The outlet said the review followed a report in NOTUS, or News of the United States, and that military officials spoke Monday with Libby Klinner, the wife of Major John Alexander Klinner, one of six service members killed in a plane crash during a refueling mission over Iraq on March 12.
Democracy Now! linked the benefits dispute to the same broader debate over how the Iran conflict is framed, noting that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is under fire for declaring that there haven’t been American deaths during the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran.
In the CNBC remarks that triggered the backlash, Lutnick said, "there’s not — there haven’t been American deaths," and Democracy Now! quoted him describing the approach as "an economic choke-out."
Separately, Reuters reported that Trump’s Truth Social post landed as Iranian authorities detailed heavy casualties from the latest U.S. strikes, with Iran’s health ministry saying Tuesday night’s strikes killed 18 people and wounded 108, while the Red Crescent identified four killed and 67 wounded when a U.S. strike hit a wedding ceremony near the coast of the strait of Hormuz.