National Security

DAVID MARCUS: Trump's high-stakes geopolitical poker is restoring US power

The Strait of Hormuz, Iran's most precious asset, was pushed to the center of the table in Trump's high-stakes gamble

By David Marcus Fox News

Published April 9, 2026 10:35am EDT | Updated April 9, 2026 10:54am EDT

Facebook Twitter Threads Flipboard Comments Print Email Add Fox News on Google

close

Video

Inside Trump's decisive leadership in the Situation Room on Iran

Former Trump Deputy National Security Advisor K.T. McFarland provides an insider's account of Donald Trump's unique decision-making process, particularly on foreign policy amid armed conflict with Iran.

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Henry Nau once penned a fascinating article in Commentary magazine in which he argued that the foreign policy of Barack Obama was like a jigsaw puzzle, while the more traditional approach of George W. Bush was like a chessboard. In more recent years, I have often wondered what President Donald Trump’s game is. 

Today, as Operation Epic Fury in Iran appears to wind down, it has become clear that Trump plays foreign policy like a massive geopolitical poker game, and that he is holding a winning hand.

What Nau meant about Obama’s jigsaw style is that, under his "lead from behind" approach, every nation on Earth, friend and foe alike, holds a piece of a global puzzle, and if we all just put them down in the right place, the world’s problems will be solved.

Cargo ships in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam........

© Fox News