US President Donald Trump departs after delivering remarks at a midterm campaign rally in Dubuque, Iowa, US, November 1, 2026. REUTERS/Vincent Alban
A strange brag President Donald Trump let out during his rally in Iowa on Sunday immediately blew up in his face.
Trump traveled to Dubuque, Iowa, to rally for Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) as she seeks higher office in the Senate against Democratic challenger Josh Turek. During his speech, Trump made an unsettling claim about his ability to "win" wars, and how he would have handled some of the biggest conflicts in U.S. history.
"I could have won Vietnam in a week," Trump said. "They dropped whatever the hell that crap is that hit the forest: Agent Orange! Instead of going after Ho Chi Minh and the other cities."
Trump also claimed he could have solved the war in Afghanistan in a "week" as well.
The president's comments didn't land well with several political analysts.
Gregory Brew, an Iranian oil analyst for the Eurasia Group, argued that Trump's comment was a "curious" one to make.
"Throughout the entirety of Trump's first term, the U.S. was at war in Afghanistan. Not only did he not win it, but his administration negotiated the deal that made the events of 2021 essentially unavoidable. This is a curious boast to make," he posted on X.
Jonah Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Dispatch, said that Trump had an opportunity to prove his boast true during his first term, but failed to do so.
"He could have 'won' Afghanistan during his first term. But he spent most of it trying to get out," Goldberg posted on X.
Alex Cole, a liberal news creator, highlighted a glaring irony in Trump's comments.
"Draft dodger Trump couldn't defeat algae in a swimming pool, but he was going to conquer the jungles of Vietnam in a week," Cole wrote in a post on X.
Alex Ward, a national security reporter for The Wall Street Journal, posted on X that Trump's deal with the Taliban during his first term set the stage for a disastrous end to another war Trump claims he would have better solved.
"Trump oversaw four years of the war in Afghanistan, and made a deal with the Taliban—cutting out the Afghan government—that set the table for Biden’s disastrous withdrawal," Ward posted.
Trump: I would’ve won The Vietnam War in a week. I would’ve won the war in Afghanistan. https://t.co/eaWK6o2pnb
— Acyn (@Acyn) November 1, 2026