Just days after President Trump ordered a bombing campaign on Iranian targets, the verdict is in, and it’s not good. Not only did the strikes fail to achieve any strategic gains, but they also risked escalating a volatile region with little to show in return. What was billed as a bold act of leadership now looks more like another foreign policy blunder from a president who promised to keep America out of endless wars.
Trump’s rationale for bombing Iran was murky at best. His administration pointed to vague threats and vague alliances, but as with many of his decisions, the details were light and the consequences heavy. The international community condemned the move, and regional stability took a hit. Iran, predictably, responded with defiance rather than retreat. No regime change. No peace breakthrough. No progress.
This is becoming a pattern.
Trump promised to end America’s “stupid wars,” yet he’s dragged the U.S. deeper into global conflict. From his failure to deter Russia in Ukraine, to his reckless green-lighting of Israeli expansion in Gaza, his presidency has been defined more by chaos than clarity. And now, with Iran, he’s thrown gasoline on another fire, only to walk away as the flames grow.
What’s worse is that Trump keeps selling himself as a master negotiator—a dealmaker who can solve problems others can’t. But where are the results? His “peace through strength” approach has brought neither. The Iran deal he tore up in 2018 had kept a lid on nuclear tensions. Now? We’re teetering on the edge of a wider conflict in the Middle East, with American credibility in decline and allies increasingly wary of following his lead.
The bombing of Iran wasn’t just a tactical failure. It was a strategic embarrassment. It reinforced the perception that Trump’s foreign policy is driven more by ego and optics than by long-term thinking. And once again, it’s the American people, and our service members, who are left to pay the price.
As the 2024 campaign heats up, voters should take stock: Trump’s list of promises may have sounded good, but his record tells a different story. He promised peace. He delivered instability. He promised strength. He gave us bluster.
Iran is just the latest chapter in a story we’ve read before. And one we can’t afford to keep repeating.
