Trump, who vowed response to Iran’s downing of US helicopter, also said it ‘wasn’t a big deal’

Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

US President Donald Trump speaks on June 4, 2026, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC. (AP/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
US President Donald Trump speaks on June 4, 2026, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC. (AP/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

In comments reported today, US President Donald Trump downplays Iran’s recent downing of a US military helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz, telling The Wall Street Journal in a phone interview that it “wasn’t a big deal” and that “the pilot is fine.”

The report doesn’t specify whether Trump made the comments before or after he declared on social media that the US “must” respond to the helicopter downing.

It is the latest example in which Trump has appeared to take contradictory stances in one of his many phone interviews with journalists and in a Truth Social post published on the same day.

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