Trump promised to end wars, but his war with Iran is imploding the political coalition built on that promise. His approval rating has plummeted to 36%, with over half the public opposing the conflict from the start - a rare rejection of a new war.
According to Christopher Caldwell on The Ezra Klein Show, non-interventionism was the essential pillar that made Trumpism a coherent political project. It was the promise to bypass the permanent state and deliver what voters actually voted for. A major war collapses that entire structure.
Christopher Caldwell, The Ezra Klein Show:
- Trump promised a country in which you would get the stuff you voted for and not the permanent state.
- Having gone to war now, the limit is sort of off.
The domestic costs are immediate. On Breaking Points, Saagar Enjeti detailed how the conflict is spiking gas prices and mortgage rates for the same young voters who backed Trump to avoid this scenario. The administration, Enjeti argued, didn’t even try to sell the war, assuming the public would blindly follow.
The strategic logic is also broken. By killing Iranian leaders who had religious objections to nuclear weapons, Enjeti contends the U.S. has accelerated Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The move creates a “villain origin story” while Americans pay at the pump.
Robert Draper, speaking on The Daily, argues this pivot was always latent. Trump never truly rejected war; he rejected losing. His core principle was a belief in his own power. Conservatives who once opposed intervention have fallen in line after quick, low-cost operations.
Robert Draper, The Daily:
- He realized this was a winning message, so he began to say things that were very much against his core belief.
- His core principle was, I believe in myself, and I believe in the assertion of power.
The project of Trumpism is finished. What remains is just the man, exercising power for its own sake and betraying the voters who hired him to restrain it.
