Trump is currently averting conflict despite his promises to be a "president of peace."

Trump is currently averting conflict despite his promises to be a "president of peace."

Donald Trump, who once promised to stay out of foreign wars with the slogan ‘America First’, is now more interested in using US military power abroad than ever before, a decade later.

During his first presidential campaign in 2016, Trump was a vocal critic of US military intervention at the time. In his words, ‘regime change is a proven, completely failed policy.’ He said, ‘We will stop rushing to overthrow foreign governments.’

In the 2024 election, Trump boasted that ‘no new wars have started’ during his term. At the same time, he warned that if Kamala Harris wins, she will ‘definitely get us into World War III’ and send Americans ‘to a war in an unknown country.’

But just a year later, the situation is completely different. Trump is now moving towards overthrowing foreign governments himself. He is sending US troops to another war in the Middle East. Trump, who calls himself the ‘president of peace’, is trying to use the full force of the US military against Iran to overthrow the government there.

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The Trump of 2016 and the Trump of 2026 are two different people when it comes to foreign intervention. Although he came to power promising to put America first, he is now increasingly comfortable using force abroad. The bombing of Iran on Saturday was the eighth military operation of his second term. Earlier, he effectively paralyzed the Venezuelan government and threatened to overthrow the Cuban ruler.

A long list of accusations, but no answer to the question of ‘why now’

In a video message on social media at midnight, Trump outlined a list of accusations against Iran that had accumulated over nearly half a century. These included—its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, its support for groups that have attacked the United States and its allies, the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979, and the recent killing of protesters in Iran.

However, Trump did not give a clear answer to the question of why military action was taken now, and not earlier. He did not explain why his position had changed.

There are also inconsistencies in Trump's statements about the Iranian threat. After the joint attack with Israel last summer, he claimed that Iran's nuclear program had been "totally destroyed." He made the same claim in his State of the Union address on Tuesday. He repeated that in a video released early Saturday morning. But if the program has been destroyed, why is another attack necessary? The question remains unanswered.

What's next

The outcome of this geopolitical risk will depend on the next situation. If successful, voters may forget even broken promises. The current regime in Tehran is unpopular. Videos of jubilation have been seen on the streets following the news of Khamenei's death. If the remaining top officials in the Khamenei government can be removed, it would be a major success for Trump.

However, Trump has not engaged in a long-term ground war like Afghanistan and Iraq. For now, he wants to limit himself to using air power.

Still, Trump's own warning raises the possibility of casualties among US troops. Even if the government in Tehran falls, the new government could be anti-US, or chaos could arise like in Libya.