President Donald Trump warned Thursday that the United States could unleash additional military strikes in Nigeria if attacks on Christian communities there do not stop, injecting fresh intensity into a contentious foreign policy debate.
Speaking in an interview published by The New York Times, Trump framed further action as a direct response to what he described as ongoing violence against Christians, following a U.S. airstrike in Nigeria on Christmas Day targeting Islamic State militants.
“I’d love to make it a one-time strike… But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike,” Trump said, underscoring his readiness to authorize repeated operations.
The U.S. military has maintained that the Christmas Day operation was conducted with the consent of the Nigerian government and was aimed at ISIS affiliates, not any particular religious group. Nigerian authorities have echoed that the strike was a joint counter-terrorism effort against militants and not motivated by religion.
Pressed about claims from his own Africa adviser that both Muslims and Christians are victims of extremist violence, Trump acknowledged Muslims are also being killed but insisted Christians are disproportionately targeted.
The remarks mark a sharp escalation in Trump’s rhetoric on Nigeria’s security crisis and reflect his broader narrative about threats to Christian communities abroad.
