White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt left the door open for the launch of a possible ground invasion in Iran during a weekend appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
Host Maria Bartiromo gave President Donald Trump’s favorite spokesperson an opportunity to address concerns that Iran may soon see American boots on the ground one day after he told reporters it could be part of Operation Epic Fury “later on.”
“Mothers out there are worried we’re going to have a draft, that they’re going to see their sons and daughters get involved in this,” the Fox News veteran said. “What do you want to say about the president’s plan for troops on the ground?”
Leavitt wasn’t making any promises, telling Bartiromo, “President Trump wisely does not remove options off of the table.”
Her message was in line with what Trump told reporters about the possibility of the air campaign shifting strategies while on Air Force One Saturday.
“We haven’t talked about it,” the president said. “At some point, maybe we will. It would be a great thing. Right now, we’re just decimating them. We haven’t gone after it but something we could do later on.”
“We wouldn’t do it now,” he went on, adding that there would have to be “a very good reason” to deploy ground troops.
Before appearing on Fox News, Leavitt shot down a Saturday report from NBC News which said the president had privately expressed interest in a ground invasion to close aides and Republican officials outside the White House.
“This story is based on assumptions from anonymous sources who are not part of the president’s national security team and are clearly not read into these discussions,” she said, while still saying Trump “keeps all options open.”
According to the Pentagon, six service members have been killed and 18 other troops have been injured since the U.S. launched military operations in Iran last Saturday.
