President Donald Trump meets UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on May 15, 2025.
As Donald Trump’s war on Iran nears the end of its first month, his constantly swerving policy pronouncements mystify both expert observers and ordinary citizens. Whispers from within the White House, which likewise veer in all directions, only add to the confusion over a bloody misadventure that seems likely to cost more lives and treasure than could ever be justified.
Trump does many things that make no sense, often acting in ways that appear damaging to his political self-interest. Still in most instances, the motivation behind his behavior becomes clearer when we remember what truly drives him -- not patriotism, not American security, not “morality,” as he put it – but money and power.
With his power waning as a lameduck, Trump is increasingly terrified by predictions of a blue wave blowout in November's midterm elections. The war's unprecedented rejection by the American people, with support from less than 40 percent, has darkened an already foreboding political prospect. Under the pressure of new surveys that show even male voters dropping away from MAGA, both the president and his Republican allies are scrambling toward an exit from the war.
Indeed, Trump doesn't even want to use that term to describe the conflict he initiated. When he spoke at a House Republican fundraising event last night, he admitted that he doesn't want to say “war," presumably because he knows that beneath their cowardly acquiescence, GOP members are growing frustrated and fearful.
Signs of trouble are emerging across the caucus, from MAGA stalwart Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), who has declared she won’t vote for any supplemental war budget, to Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), who chairs the Armed Services Committee and complains that the administration has failed to explain the war’s plans and objectives. “We’re just not getting enough answers,” he said.
Anyone familiar with the typically abject posture of House Republicans would recognize that as a scorching dissent. When thousands of Marines arrive in the Gulf region over the next few days, those restive members are likely to get even more agitated. And if more of our troops die in combat, as Trump himself has declared inevitable, then outrage over his war will explode.
Yet even as polls and the politicians crystallize public doubt, Trump’s financial benefactors on the other side of the world are pressing him to continue and even escalate. Today’s Washington Post reports that the rulers of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- whose sovereign wealth funds and investment entities have provided billions of dollars to the Trump family – are unwilling to see the war concluded just yet. Having initially urged the United States to avoid an unnecessary military confrontation with Iran, the wealthy Gulf states are now demanding a "decisive end to the war."
“If Tehran doesn’t agree to severe restrictions on its missile, drone and nuclear programs, Saudi and Emirati leadership have indicated they would support an escalated military campaign aimed at pressuring concessions at the negotiating table,” according to Post interviews with knowledgeable European and Arab officials. There is no sign whatsoever that the Iranian regime is prepared to make any such deal, when in fact they are either rejecting negotiations or demanding reparations and other concessions from the US and Israel. Achieving a "decisive end" could thus cost thousands of American casualties, with dire electoral consequences for the Republicans.
So Trump is trapped between the partisan imperative to escape this ill-conceived and unplanned “excursion” and the global grifting that drives him and his family in every waking hour. Unfortunately for America and the Marines he has sent in harm’s way, so are we.
- War On Iran Is Still A War Even When Gutless Republicans Insist It Isn't ›
- Retired General: Trump ‘Hurtling Towards War’ With Iran ›
- Why War To Impose Regime Change On Iran Will Bring 'A World Of Hurt' ›
- Behind War On Iran: The Fox News-White House Feedback Loop ›
- Fox's Ultra-Hawkish Hosts Are Thrilled With Iran War -- And Eager To Escalate ›
Start your day with National Memo Newsletter
Know first.
The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning
