During his 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump set three top priorities for his second term. He would be a peacemaker, ending ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza; he would solve US economic woes and bring down consumer prices for average Americans; and he would secure the country’s borders by restricting immigration and accelerating deportations.
Less than 150 days after returning to the White House, Israel’s preventative strikes on Iran have put this agenda at risk. Now presiding over a third conflict in which the United States is an indirect participant, Trump’s promises of peace seem further away than ever. Worse, the still-escalating war could put pressure on his domestic initiatives, diverting attention and resources from border security and immigration enforcement, and scuttling his efforts to lower inflation. For Trump, the next days and weeks will be critical. He can still salvage his second-term promises, but only with a forceful push to quickly end hostilities and reopen diplomacy with Tehran.
The outbreak of a new war in the Middle East and the collapse of nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran is a major blow to Trump’s desired role as a peace broker. After failing to make significant progress towards ending the wars in Ukraine or Gaza, Trump’s oft-repeated refrain that “this war wouldn’t have started if I were president” now rings less true. Although he counselled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against a military strike on Iran, he ultimately acquiesced to Israel’s unilateral action.
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