On the same day President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit San Antonio, local veterans are speaking out in opposition to the war in Iran.
At a press conference Wednesday at City Hall, military veterans asked that Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton call on Trump to end the conflict when the two meet.
They criticized the high fuel prices caused by the war, the extended timeline and the strain on military families and loss of life.
“We must end the war as our military members serving are paying the price,” said retired Air Force veteran Larry Romo. “…The loss of precious lives of our service members, and working families have paid the price economically.”
The ongoing conflict with Iran has killed at least 18 U.S. service members and wounded more than 800 others. In July, 19-year-old Texas Army private Isabella Gonzales was killed in an Iranian strike.
The president is in San Antonio to rally with both Texas Attorney General Paxton and Republican Congressional candidate Carlos De La Cruz, an Air Force veteran running for Congress in District 35.
He’s scheduled to appear this evening at the Freeman Coliseum for the campaign event.
Earlier in the day, the Paxton campaign suffered from another leaked audio recording of the candidate, lamenting that the war and the high fuel prices that came with it is the “biggest problem” of his campaign.
Speakers also critiqued a statement Paxton made at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas last month in which he said he would have “preferred” if the Iran War came after the midterms.
“[I wish] that our dead and wounded service members could have received that same consideration,” retired U.S. Army veteran Fred Hofstetter said about the remarks.
Paxton is facing James Talarico, a 37-year-old state lawmaker from Austin, in the general election next month. In August, Talarico released a military and veterans platform where he called for “stopping the new forever war in Iran.”
The veterans were joined by State Rep. Josey Garcia, D-San Antonio, an Air Force veteran who was the first woman veteran to serve in the Texas Legislature, and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio.
“Ken Paxton, we demand as Military City USA veterans to know what your plan is to support the veterans of Texas,” Garcia said.
The request comes after Trump spoke at a Nebraska rally Monday and said he wanted to see a “tremendous victory” in Iran, and appeared to indicate he would be OK with the country targeting two Democratic U.S. cities. The statement drew bipartisan condemnation.
“It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe. They could take out a city, let them take Los Angeles, let them take out San Diego,” the president said.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung attempted to clarify the president’s remarks on social media.
“He was clearly stating U.S. cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn’t been stopped,” he said.
As the war heads into its eighth month, Democrats continue to cite the increased cost of fuel in midterm messaging.
Trump said Monday that he thinks the war is “going to end very soon” and that prices will come “tumbling” down. However, he also said the conflict was “going to be ended soon” on March 9 at a White House press conference.
San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, a veteran and the former undersecretary of the Air Force in the Biden administration, requested a meeting with Trump to discuss affordability and ending the war in Iran, among other things.
“As Military City USA, we are also closely tracking the Iran War and its strain on operational readiness and military families, as it also drives gas prices in our community to nearly $3.70 per gallon,” she wrote.
Veterans said they wanted the next Texas senator to vote in Washington D.C. to bring an end to the conflict.
“Don’t thank me for my service unless you are going to do something,” said retired Army Lt. Col. Martha Spinks.
The San Antonio Report’s military and veterans coverage is supported by Report for America.
