The Paradox of Anti-Interventionism and the Normalization of Violence in the Age of Endless War: Trump and the War on Iran
One of the most powerful themes in American politics has been the promise to end the so-called “forever wars.” After decades of conflict in Iraq, Afghanistan, and across the Middle East, many voters—left, right, and independent—were exhausted by strategically unclear and expensive military interventions. President Donald Trump successfully tapped into that frustration. On the campaign trail, he repeatedly presented himself as the president who would finally break with the bipartisan tradition of interventionism. In his election victory speech in November 2024, Trump assured his supporters: “I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars.”
Yet the reality of U.S. policy toward Iran, and its continuity from one administration to the next, reveals something very different. Instead of dismantling the logic of endless conflict, the trajectory of U.S. policy suggests that the underlying system of military escalation remains firmly in place. For voters who supported President Trump because they believed he would end America’s cycle of war, the result looks less like a break from the past and more like a continuation under new branding.
