Trump calls Iran war 'small potatoes,' threatens its 'biggest attack of them all,' profits either way

“They tell you it's small potatoes right up until they tell you it's the biggest attack of them all, and the only number that never changes size is the one on the stock filing. That's not a mixed message, that's a business plan — talk the war down when the cameras need calm, talk it up when Tehran needs a scare, and either way the energy portfolio closes green. Somebody's kid is paying at the pump for a war too small to name and too big to end.”

Sal

“Look, "small potatoes" is just the President putting the conflict in perspective, comparing scale, that's responsible framing, not — okay, did he also promise the biggest attack of them all the same week? Strength and restraint aren't contradictory, they're complementary postures, that's basic deterrence theory, that's — the stock disclosures are routine, every official has to file those, that's not the story here. Did I just defend both halves of that? That doesn't sound like me.”

Chip

The receipts

Trump says military conflict in Iran is 'small potatoes for us'

NBC Newsmainstream§17:22 EDT

President Trump said during an Oval Office event that he would not call the ongoing military conflict in Iran a "war," instead labeling it "small potatoes." This comes one day after Vice President JD Vance also refused to call it a "war."

~~Trump calls war with Iran ‘small potatoes’ for U.S.~~ The president calls war with Iran 'small potatoes' while deploying the Navy to guard oil tankers

NBC Newsmainstream§19:14 EDT

President Trump called the conflict with Iran ‘small potatoes,’ adding the U.S. was now protecting oil tankers from Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz. NBC News’ Gabe Gutierrez reports.

~~Iran war is "small potatoes" for U.S., Trump says~~ The Iran war sent diesel to a record, but Vance claims credit for it not being worse

CBS Newsmainstream§03:28 EDT

President Trump downplayed the war with Iran and also defended Vice President JD Vance saying it wasn't a war.

Iran down to 2 months of fuel supply as brutal US sanctions take their toll

New York Postright§17:00 EDT

Iran is facing a potential economic disaster as the besieged Islamic Republic's fuel reserves have dwindled to a paltry two-month supply, following months of punishing US bombing campaigns and a fresh wave of crippling economic sanctions.

· Big Oil Stocks Surged Due to Iran War—and New Filings Show How President Trump Cashed In from the morgue, 27 Aug 2026

· Iran War Trump Said Would Be Quick Has Now Lasted 6 Months With 'No End In Sight' from the morgue, 28 Aug 2026

· Trump Issues New Mass Murder Threat, Warning Iran of 'Biggest Attack of Them All' from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026

This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.