Trump's war with Iran is shattering the coalition that elected him. His approval has collapsed to 36%, and over half of Americans already oppose the conflict - a rare early rejection that shows no 'rally around the flag' effect.
According to Christopher Caldwell on *The Ezra Klein Show*, Trumpism was a promise of democratic restoration, bypassing a permanent state that thwarted voters' will. Its load-bearing pillar was non-interventionism. By rejecting the Iraq War consensus, Trump built a base that tolerated his contradictions. A major war removes that pillar, making him indistinguishable from the establishment he promised to dismantle.
Christopher Caldwell, The Ezra Klein Show:
- As long as the president was committed to not going to war in a major way, there is a limit to how far you could expect him to take his program.
- Having gone to war now, the limit is sort of off.
The political fallout is visceral. On *Breaking Points*, Saagar Enjeti noted the administration assumed Americans would follow them into war without a sales pitch. Young voters who backed Trump for his anti-war rhetoric now face spiking gas prices, a grim job market, and the threat of a draft.
Robert Draper, speaking on *The Daily*, argues this was always Trump's real ideology. The 'no endless wars' message was a winning pitch, but his core belief was in his own power and leverage. Operations in Iran and Venezuela are framed as strength, not recklessness, and former critics on the right have fallen in line after quick, low-cost victories.
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 leverage, and I believe in the assertion of power.
The project of Trumpism is dead; only the man remains. What's left is a presidency defined by personal authority, paid for at the American pump.
