Trump plunges the US into a new war In fewer than six months in office, the self-proclaimed anti-war president has engrossed the US into a new war in the Middle East Brian Tyler Cohen Jun 22 The United States, it seems, is now at war. Donald Trump took to Truth Social, writing: In other words, the United States is now engrossed in a brand new war in the Middle East at the hands of the self-proclaimed anti-war president. Trump has spent the last five months vowing that the Ukraine-Russia war would never have happened if he was president, vowing that the Israel-Gaza war would never have happened if he was president. And yet the reality is that not only has he not avoided war, but he’s plunged us into the middle of a new one. Granted, he did suggest that “NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE” to give himself some plausible deniability, but if you believe that Iran will just calmly accept his declaration of “peace” and we’ll all live in harmony, then I’ve got a Trump-branded streak to sell you. This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber. In fact, Trump took this action on the pretense that Iran has imminent access to nuclear weapons, a point that his own Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard denied. Trump, however, was unmoved by what the intelligence community had to say: It’s also worth noting that this military action against Iran was illegal, in that Trump didn’t seek congressional approval. He doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally declare war; Congress does. The merits of Iran’s nuclear capabilities notwithstanding, it is not the sole discretion of one man to launch a military attack on a foreign country; it’s up to Congress. Even Republican lawmaker Thomas Massie made that point: Granted, the White House already signaled that the law does not apply to them. Karoline Leavitt already made clear days ago that the administration wasn’t interested in getting the requisite authority in the event that they did decide to strike. And yet the reason this is happening is because the Republican-controlled legislative branch is never going to assert its authority, aside from Thomas Massie and perhaps Rand Paul. Mike Johnson and John Thune and the rest of the rank and file Republicans are allergic to standing up to this president, and so they will allow him to run roughshod over the Constitution and usurp all of their authority, because their only job is to act as an extension of the president’s whims— legality be damned. Trump swept into office amid promises of peace. But now that he’s got power, he’s wholly disinterested in upholding his promises. He views himself as completely unaccountable to anyone and everyone, because that’s what autocrats do. And now the United States is being dragged into another war at the hands of an autocrat drunk on power. This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.