Donald Trump has made the “America First” doctrine central to his political campaign and presidency. His presidency has been presented as a departure from a US foreign policy that drew America into multiple wars abroad, fuelling instability and draining resources. Many supporters backed Trump because they saw this doctrine as a promise to end America’s long-running wars in the Middle East.

However, recent events regarding the US attack on Iran have left many people wondering whether America is still guided by this doctrine. Many now think the country is guided by a different doctrine: protecting Israel’s strategic interests, even if that means going to war with Iran.

If America is guided by “America First”, attacking Iran appears to contradict this doctrine.

America First or Israel First?

The original promise of “America First” was rooted in a long-standing tradition of American political thought that emphasised sovereignty, non-interventionism, and scepticism towards military intervention beyond the country’s borders. Trump revived the slogan in 2016, presenting it as a rejection of interventionist policies that led to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The promise resonated strongly with the American people, who felt decades of interventionism had drained the country of its resources while offering nothing in return to the common citizen. The basic promise was simple: the country’s policy must serve its own interests first.

In theory, this policy would require extreme caution before military conflict is initiated beyond the country’s borders.

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A long-standing special relationship

However, the United States’ relationship with Israel has long been treated as a special case in US foreign policy. Israel has been the largest cumulative recipient of US foreign aid in the second half of the twentieth century, receiving hundreds of billions of dollars in........

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