Rep. Mike Lawler on Sunday distanced himself from comments President Donald Trump made regarding the ongoing military conflict between the U.S. and Iran.
Speaking to CNN's "State of the Union," the New York Republican disagreed with the president's remarks that the war is "small potatoes."
"Any time you are at war or in a military escalation, it is certainly not small potatoes," Lawler said. "It is serious. I think we all recognize that."
Lawler, who is running for reelection, has previously said over 50 percent of his district is made up of service members, veterans, law enforcement and first responders. He is in one of the tightest races in the country against Democrat Cait Conley, who also appeared Sunday on "This Week."
In defense of Vice President JD Vance's remarks that the ongoing conflict was not a war, Trump told reporters on Friday that he also does not consider the two nations fighting a war.
"I call it a military conflict because it's small potatoes for us. It's not a big thing," Trump said.
Lawler and Trump have had a close relationship throughout the second Trump administration. In May, the president traveled to New York to support Lawler's reelection bid, where he told a crowd of supporters that Lawler is "fantastic."
"He's a terrific guy. You're lucky to have him," Trump said.
While Lawler has supported the administration's directive that Iran cannot possess a nuclear weapon, he has previously broken with the president. In July, he helped lead a bipartisan letter to Trump urging him to refrain from selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey.
Even though Conley has accused him of being aligned too closely with Trump, Lawler will be appearing at this week's midterm Republican convention.
"It's not a function of alignment. It's a function of doing the job," he said. "In order to get anything done, you have to be able to reach across the aisle and also work within your own party."