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Three U.S. Troops — Including a 19-Year-Old Private and a 25-Year-Old Lieutenant — Were Killed in the Iran War Over the Weekend, the Deadliest Since It Began; Trump Golfed at Bedminster, Attended the World Cup Final and Presented the Trophy, Called the Deaths "a Very Sad Thing" in a Phone Call, and Never Mentioned Them on Truth Social
Over the weekend of July 17–20, 2026, the war with Iran had its deadliest stretch since it began in February. Three U.S. service members were killed and five wounded. The Defense Department identified two of them: 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, both killed when Iranian ballistic missiles and drones struck the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on Friday. A third service member was killed during a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The U.S. death toll in the war reached 17. President Trump spent the weekend golfing at his Bedminster resort on Saturday and attending the FIFA World Cup final at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, where FIFA broke from its recent protocol to let him present the trophy to Spain after its win over Argentina — and where he lingered in the champions' celebration until FIFA President Gianni Infantino tried to usher him off the stage. His first public acknowledgment of the dead came not in an address but in a brief phone call to a TV reporter, in which he called the loss "a very sad thing" — a solemn line sandwiched between a round of golf and a trophy ceremony. His Truth Social account was active all weekend but carried no mention of the fallen troops; the posts instead pushed the SAVE America Act and a bid to add Iran to a Russia sanctions bill. Only later did he post, "Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over," and, after landing from the game, tell reporters, "We hit them very hard again tonight." It is the conduct of a commander in chief treating a war he started as a backdrop to his weekend — golf, a stadium suite, a gold trophy — while the families of the dead learned their names.
Trump Pulls 5,000 Troops From Germany Because Merz Criticized His Iran War — Threatens "A Lot Further"
Trump ordered 5,000 troops withdrawn from Germany after Chancellor Merz said the U.S. was being "humiliated" by Iran and lacked a strategy. Trump then threatened to go "a lot further" than 5,000. Spain and Italy may be next. He is dismantling NATO's core European deterrent because an ally criticized a war that NATO refused to join.
"Trust Has Been Broken": Former NATO Ambassador Says Trump Has Destroyed the Alliance
Former NATO Ambassador Daalder says Trump has broken the foundational trust of the alliance. Trump threatened to pull from NATO and stop Ukraine weapons sales because allies refused to join his Iran war. France closed its airspace to U.S. warplanes. Spain barred U.S. bombers.