President Donald Trump is dismissing the idea that launching the war with Iran this year betrayed his refrain of “no new wars” that he made repeatedly as he campaigned again for the White House.

Also read | Trump asks Netanyahu not to strike Iran; says “very close” to peace deal

Mr. Trump, in an interview that aired Sunday (June 7, 2026) on NBC, said he “didn’t guarantee” there would be no wars if he were back in office.

“First of all, I didn’t guarantee no war. Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Trump also defended plans for a now-scrapped $1.8 billion fund that would have compensated allies of the Republican President, and he repeated his baseless claims of mass fraud in California’s drawn-out vote count from Tuesday’s (June 2, 2026) primary. He ended the interview abruptly when he became frustrated with pushback from NBC‘s Kristen Welker.

‘Iran is not an endless war’

In his 2024 campaign, Mr. Trump repeatedly cast his Democratic opponents as warmongers and said he was a President who started “no new wars” and would bring an era of peace.

But Mr. Trump said in the NBC interview, taped Friday (June 5, 2026) in Wisconsin, that as a candidate, “I didn’t promise anything.”

“I don’t like these endless wars. This is not an endless war. We’ve been doing this for three months,” he said of the war with Iran, which began on February 28.

Mr. Trump said he was “doing the world a service” and “doing our country a service” because he had to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon. But elsewhere in the interview, Mr. Trump repeated a contradictory message where he said U.S. strikes last year “obliterated” Iranian nuclear sites.

He also defended his decision in his first term to withdraw from Democratic President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, an agreement he has heavily criticized, without negotiating the “better deal” he has promised to reach.

“It takes years to do these things,” Mr. Trump said.

Trump without evidence claims fraud in California vote

California’s notoriously prolonged vote count has been a magnet for election conspiracy theories, and Mr. Trump, since Tuesday’s (June 2, 2026) election, has claimed without evidence that Democrats are rigging the election. The Trump-appointed top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles said Friday (June 5, 2026) that his office had opened “multiple election fraud investigations.”

Late-tallied Democratic-leaning mail ballots have eaten into the vote totals for Mr. Trump’s preferred candidates for Governor and Los Angeles Mayor. While Mr. Trump has often said that changes to vote totals as late ballots are counted are a sign of fraud, they are merely a reflection of a slow vote-counting process.

Mr. Trump, in the interview, kept claiming that it was a sign of “cheating” and “a rigged election,” and grew increasingly frustrated as Ms. Welker pressed him for evidence to support that.

“All I have to do is look. All I have to do is look,” Mr. Trump said.

“But that’s not evidence,” Ms. Welker responded.

“And I listen. And I listen to people. And let’s see what happens,” Mr. Trump replied.

Anti-weaponization’ fund

Mr. Trump defended plans that his Department of Justice said it has now abandoned to create a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” as part of a settlement to resolve Mr. Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Wednesday (June 3, 2026) that the department was scrapping the plan. That announcement came after the plan was paused by a judge, and after both Democrats and some Republicans said that they were concerned about the fund’s lack of oversight and the possibility of payouts being made to participants in the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

Mr. Trump told NBC he thought the fund was “a great idea” and that he would be “disappointed” if it were not approved.

When asked if he thought people who attacked police officers on January 6 should get a payout, Mr. Trump said, “I wouldn’t be inclined to say so, but I have to see it.” He then began making unfounded and false claims about the riot and those who stormed the Capitol. Mr. Trump granted a sweeping pardon on his first day back in office in January 2025 to the more than 1,500 people prosecuted over January 6.

Rain interruptions and an abrupt end

The NBC interview was conducted in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, before Mr. Trump was set to speak at a roundtable event with farmers. The interview was repeatedly interrupted as waves of heavy rain fell on the metal roof of the barn where the taping took place, making it difficult at times to hear.

At the end, Ms. Welker pressed Mr. Trump on the settlement fund and his claims about the California election. Mr. Trump raised his voice and began calling Ms. Welker and the media “crooked,” attacking her credibility and complaining about what he called “the fake, dirty press.”

As Ms. Welker tried to switch subjects, Mr. Trump continued, and there was cross-talk between the two. Mr. Trump ended the interview, saying said, “Let’s call it quits.” He took off his microphone, telling Ms. Welker, “Thank you, darling. Have a good time.” He said he had given the interview enough time, stood up and walked away.

Ms. Welker said during the broadcast that she spoke to Mr. Trump on Saturday (June 7, 2026), and he agreed the rain had caused complications and said he would do another interview in the future.

Published – June 08, 2026 01:01 pm IST

President Donald Trump is dismissing the idea that launching the war with Iran this year betrayed his refrain of “no new wars” that he made repeatedly as he campaigned again for the White House.

Also read | Trump asks Netanyahu not to strike Iran; says “very close” to peace deal

Mr. Trump, in an interview that aired Sunday (June 7, 2026) on NBC, said he “didn’t guarantee” there would be no wars if he were back in office.

“First of all, I didn’t guarantee no war. Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Trump also defended plans for a now-scrapped $1.8 billion fund that would have compensated allies of the Republican President, and he repeated his baseless claims of mass fraud in California’s drawn-out vote count from Tuesday’s (June 2, 2026) primary. He ended the interview abruptly when he became frustrated with pushback from NBC‘s Kristen Welker.

‘Iran is not an endless war’

In his 2024 campaign, Mr. Trump repeatedly cast his Democratic opponents as warmongers and said he was a President who started “no new wars” and would bring an era of peace.

But Mr. Trump said in the NBC interview, taped Friday (June 5, 2026) in Wisconsin, that as a candidate, “I didn’t promise anything.”

“I don’t like these endless wars. This is not an endless war. We’ve been doing this for three months,” he said of the war with Iran, which began on February 28.

Mr. Trump said he was “doing the world a service” and “doing our country a service” because he had to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon. But elsewhere in the interview, Mr. Trump repeated a contradictory message where he said U.S. strikes last year “obliterated” Iranian nuclear sites.

He also defended his decision in his first term to withdraw from Democratic President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, an agreement he has heavily criticized, without negotiating the “better deal” he has promised to reach.

“It takes years to do these things,” Mr. Trump said.

Trump without evidence claims fraud in California vote

California’s notoriously prolonged vote count has been a magnet for election conspiracy theories, and Mr. Trump, since Tuesday’s (June 2, 2026) election, has claimed without evidence that Democrats are rigging the election. The Trump-appointed top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles said Friday (June 5, 2026) that his office had opened “multiple election fraud investigations.”

Late-tallied Democratic-leaning mail ballots have eaten into the vote totals for Mr. Trump’s preferred candidates for Governor and Los Angeles Mayor. While Mr. Trump has often said that changes to vote totals as late ballots are counted are a sign of fraud, they are merely a reflection of a slow vote-counting process.

Mr. Trump, in the interview, kept claiming that it was a sign of “cheating” and “a rigged election,” and grew increasingly frustrated as Ms. Welker pressed him for evidence to support that.

“All I have to do is look. All I have to do is look,” Mr. Trump said.

“But that’s not evidence,” Ms. Welker responded.

“And I listen. And I listen to people. And let’s see what happens,” Mr. Trump replied.

Anti-weaponization’ fund

Mr. Trump defended plans that his Department of Justice said it has now abandoned to create a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” as part of a settlement to resolve Mr. Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Wednesday (June 3, 2026) that the department was scrapping the plan. That announcement came after the plan was paused by a judge, and after both Democrats and some Republicans said that they were concerned about the fund’s lack of oversight and the possibility of payouts being made to participants in the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

Mr. Trump told NBC he thought the fund was “a great idea” and that he would be “disappointed” if it were not approved.

When asked if he thought people who attacked police officers on January 6 should get a payout, Mr. Trump said, “I wouldn’t be inclined to say so, but I have to see it.” He then began making unfounded and false claims about the riot and those who stormed the Capitol. Mr. Trump granted a sweeping pardon on his first day back in office in January 2025 to the more than 1,500 people prosecuted over January 6.

Rain interruptions and an abrupt end

The NBC interview was conducted in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, before Mr. Trump was set to speak at a roundtable event with farmers. The interview was repeatedly interrupted as waves of heavy rain fell on the metal roof of the barn where the taping took place, making it difficult at times to hear.

At the end, Ms. Welker pressed Mr. Trump on the settlement fund and his claims about the California election. Mr. Trump raised his voice and began calling Ms. Welker and the media “crooked,” attacking her credibility and complaining about what he called “the fake, dirty press.”

As Ms. Welker tried to switch subjects, Mr. Trump continued, and there was cross-talk between the two. Mr. Trump ended the interview, saying said, “Let’s call it quits.” He took off his microphone, telling Ms. Welker, “Thank you, darling. Have a good time.” He said he had given the interview enough time, stood up and walked away.

Ms. Welker said during the broadcast that she spoke to Mr. Trump on Saturday (June 7, 2026), and he agreed the rain had caused complications and said he would do another interview in the future.

Published – June 08, 2026 01:01 pm IST

Children gesture from a vehicle as displaced people make their way to return to their homes after a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect, near Tyre, Lebanon, April 17, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about his memorandum on the implementation of the death penalty in Washington D.C, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 25, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

File picture of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has warned Hamas to release Israeli hostages before he takes office in January 2025
| Photo Credit: via Reuters

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is demanding the immediate release of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza, saying that if they are not freed before he is sworn into office for a second term there will be “hell to pay”.

“Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity,” Mr. Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social site.

He added that, “Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”

It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Trump was threatening to directly involve the U.S. military in Israel’s ongoing campaign against Hamas in Gaza. Mr. Trump’s allies have said he hopes there will be a ceasefire and hostage release deal before he returns to office early next year.

ALSO READ: A West Asia under Donald Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office declined comment. But the country’s president, Isaac Herzog, welcomed Mr. Trump’s comments in a social media post.

“Thank you and bless you Mr. President-elect @realDonaldTrump,” he wrote on X. “We all pray for the moment we see our sisters and brothers back home!”

Death of U.S.-Israeli citizen

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage on October 7, 2023. Some 100 are still held inside Gaza, around two-thirds believed to be alive.

Mr. Trump’s threat came hours after the Israeli government confirmed the death of Omer Neutra, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, whose body is still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza, according to the Israeli government.

Days earlier, Hamas released a hostage video of Edan Alexander, who was serving in the Israeli military when he was taken by Hamas to Gaza. Filmed under apparent duress, Mr. Alexander calls on Mr. Trump to work to negotiate for his freedom and that of the remaining Hamas hostages.

The Biden administration is mounting a last-ditch effort to try to restart talks between Israel and Hamas now that it has brokered a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. But the administration has said that Hamas has yet to show a willingness to reengage in negotiations and that the group isn’t concerned for its own lives or the lives of Gaza civilians.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive for the attack has left at least 44,429 Palestinians dead, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The war has destroyed vast areas of the coastal enclave and displaced 90% of its population of 2.3 million people — often multiple times.