On the first day of the war in Iran, a missile strike on an Iranian girls’ school killed 175 people, many of them children. A week later, a reporter asked Donald Trump whether the United States was responsible for the horrific incident. The president replied, “No. In my opinion and based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran. … We think it was done by Iran.”

In the days that followed, he repeated the claim, which the White House stopped echoing after a preliminary investigation by the Pentagon found the strike was the result of dated targeting information: U.S. intelligence indicated the school had been part of an Iranian Revolutionary Guard base that had been turned into the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School several years ago.

Three months later, a reporter asked the president whether he’ll hold anyone accountable for what happened. The Republican apparently didn’t like the question.

“No,” Trump replied. “If it was a fault, and as you know, that’s under investigation. It’s such a strange question to be asked at this date, because you’re talking about a long time ago, but nobody did that on purpose. I guess you’d have to say about them, what about the thousands of soldiers that they blew up when they opened their car door?”

Relying on one of the worst passive-voice phrases in politics, he added that “mistakes are made.”

Everything about his response was an offensive mess.

First, there’s nothing “strange” about asking whether the White House will hold someone — anyone — accountable for what happened. Second, the idea that this happened “a long time ago” is ridiculous. We’re talking about a military strike from three months ago that is allegedly under investigation right now. Third, the idea that Iranian violence somehow negates the importance of what happened reflects a perspective that is inherently morally bankrupt.

But as relevant as these details are, let’s not overlook the nature of the question itself: A reporter asked about accountability, and Trump ultimately responded with “mistakes are made.”

Put another way, holding people responsible for mistakes, even deadly ones, just isn’t a presidential priority in 2026.

In March, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Trump would accept the results of the U.S. investigation into the incident. She didn’t say whether he was prepared to actually do anything in response to the findings.

That said, news organizations aren’t the only ones asking questions. Politico reported, “Senate lawmakers are threatening to freeze Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel budget if the Pentagon doesn’t turn over more details about the deadly bombing of an Iranian girls school in February and full videos of lethal strikes against alleged drug smuggling boats in the waters off Latin America.”

The provisions, the report added, were included in the Senate Armed Services Committee’s defense policy bill, and if adopted, would withhold 75% of the Pentagon chief’s travel budget until lawmakers receive the documentation lawmakers want to see. Watch this space.

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