Outrage Erupts: Karoline Leavitt Sparks Backlash Over Stance on Iran War Draft

Donald Trump is considering the possibility of reinstating the draft amid ongoing tensions with Iran, a move that has sparked significant concern among Americans.

During a recent press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt hinted that President Trump is not dismissing the idea of deploying troops to Iran.

“President Trump prudently keeps all options open,” Leavitt remarked to Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, noting that unlike many politicians, Trump doesn’t rush to take options off the table.

Nonetheless, she clarified that such a measure is not currently being planned.

Publicly, Trump has minimized the likelihood of sending ground forces, stating he would consider it only “if necessary,” and suggesting it would be a “waste of time” otherwise.

But at the same time, reports emerged of sources claiming the President has privately expressed ‘serious interest’ in such a deployment.

Leading the outrage over a potential deployment was MAGA-turncoat Marjorie Taylor Greene, who called Leavitt and the rest of the Trump administration ‘liars’ for claiming they didn’t want any more foreign wars.

‘Not my son, over my dead body!!!!!’ the mother-of-three wrote on X.

Marjorie Taylor Greene led outrage on social media over Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt refusing to rule out a US draft for the conflict in Iran

So far US operations in Iran have been conducted by air with no boots deployed to the ground in the ongoing conflict. Pictured: Smoke rises over oil depot tanks hit by Israeli-US strikes in Tehran, Iran on March 8, 2026

Others responded to the post saying that if a draft were to happen, Trump’s youngest son Barron, 19, should be the first in line.

‘It’s easier to send strangers to die than your own blood,’ a social media user wrote. ‘He should draft his sons and daughters first.’

One proposed: ‘Here’s the deal!! It’s time we have this discussion…If our government wants to wage war then it should be their children sent to the front line first.’ 

Another X post stated that Leavitt’s comments ‘should be the final wake-up call for every parent who voted’ for Trump. 

‘They campaigned on your kitchen table, and now they want your children. NOT my son. NOT my daughter. Over every dead body in Washington before theirs. This is the line,’ they added. 

Others pointed out how Trump dodged the draft in 1968 after a physical that determined he should receive a medical deferment for bone spurs in his heels. 

Bartiromo noted that ‘mothers are worried’ there would be a draft that takes their sons to war.

‘It’s not part of the current plan right now, but the President, again, wisely keeps his options on the table,’ Leavitt reiterated.

She said that Trump ‘wants to continue to assess the success of this military operation’ before making a decision on the matter of ground troops.

The last time that the US conducted a draft was in the early to mid-1970s for the highly controversial US involvement in the Vietnam War.

Despite no active draft, men between the ages of 18 and 25 are still required to register with the Selective Service System should one be activated. There have been multiple proposals to also add young women to the draft, but none that have passed into law.

President Trump has not ruled out deploying troops inside Iran, but has said doing so would be ‘a waste of time.’ Pictured: Trump salutes at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on March 7, 2026 during the dignified transfer of six US Army soldiers who died in the Iran conflict 

Leavitt’s Sunday remarks reiterated her comments from Wednesday where she said at the press briefing that deployment isn’t ‘part of the plan for this operation at this time.’

‘I will never take away military options for the Commander-in-Chief,’ she added. ‘He wisely does not do the same for himself.’

Many conservative voices in media, like Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly, have boisterously expressed their opposition to ground troops and their outrage over the conflict with Iran in general.

Democrat John Fetterman, who has shown his willingness to go across the aisle when it comes to supporting Israel, is all-in on Trump’s war against Iran.

His one exception is deployment: ‘My red line is no boots on the ground in Iran,’ the Pennsylvania Senator told the Daily Mail on a phone call Friday.