Trump, on taking Iran's oil, echoes sentiment from 40 years ago: 'To the victor go the spoils'

President Donald Trump.

President Trump appeared in the White House briefing room on Monday and took questions from reporters on the war with Iran, and suggested that the U.S. should take Iran's oil, echoing a sentiment he first made decades ago.

"You said earlier today during the egg roll that you would like to take Iran's oil, but Americans want U.S. forces home. What's that tradeoff?" a reporter asked.

Trump replied, "If I had my choice, I'm a businessman first." He then went on to suggest that a model like what was put into action in Venezuela after the U.S. ousted Nicolas Maduro earlier this year was a possible scenario for how the U.S. would approach Iran. "We've taken over 100 million barrels already," Trump said of Venezuela, adding that the profits from that oil has more than paid off the cost of the Maduro raid. "To the victor go the spoils -- and we haven't had that in this country probably in a 100 years." 

Watch a clip from the news conference below. 

Trump's remarks about seizing oil from Iran are remarkably consistent with his Middle East outlook that goes all the way back to the mid-1980s. Just last week, a clip of Trump speaking in an interview with Barbara Walters went viral because it so closely mirrors his policy positions of 2026. 

The interview was from an episode of the old TV newsmagazine 20/20 on ABC in 1987, and it showed a clip of Trump delivering a speech in which he suggested Iran's oil should be seized. Barbara Walters then pressed him on what he said. 

"You go in. You're going to have a war -- you're going to have a war by being weak," Trump replied. As Walters questioned Trump on whether he'd be open to waging a war, he responded, "Excuse me. You're going to have a war and it's going to start in the Middle East. The next time Iran attacks this country, go in and grab one of their big oil installations. And I mean, grab it and keep it and get back your losses because this country has lost plenty because of Iran." Watch the nearly 40-year-old clip below.