With the War in Iran, Trump Has Launched His Own Brand of Forever War

A decade ago, Trump promised an end to military interventions like the disaster in Iraq. Instead, he’s merely reinventing them.

As the Iran war drags on and the death and devastation grow, I keep returning to a three-minute clip from a Republican presidential debate in February 2016.

That debate took place a few days before Jeb Bush was set to hit the campaign trail for the first time with his elder brother, former President George W. Bush. Citing that scheduled appearance, moderator John Dickerson asked Trump about a 2008 interview, in which he expressed surprise that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hadn’t impeached Bush for his handling of the Iraq War. That, Trump said at the time, would have been a “wonderful thing.” Dickerson asked Trump if, eight years later, he still felt the same way. 

Never forget in 2016, on the debate stage when Trump SLAMMED George W. Bush for entering Iraq.10 years later, he would go on to do the same thing in Iran. pic.twitter.com/IUSedeg2MF— Kacee Allen (@KaceeRAllen) March 8, 2026

Never forget in 2016, on the debate stage when Trump SLAMMED George W. Bush for entering Iraq.10 years later, he would go on to do the same thing in Iran. pic.twitter.com/IUSedeg2MF

“Obviously, the war in Iraq was a big, fat mistake. All right?” said Trump. “We spent $2 trillion, thousands of lives, we don’t even have it. Iran is taking over Iraq, with the second-largest oil reserves in the world. Obviously it was a mistake. George Bush made a mistake. We can make mistakes. But that one was a beauty. We should have never been in Iraq. We have destabilized the Middle East.” 

But the quotes don’t do the clip justice; you really have to watch it. Trump is not just animated but visibly, righteously angry. He’s pissed off about the Iraq War, and the fact that he’s standing on the debate stage with the brother of its principal architect disgusts him. It is a perfect encapsulation of a key aspect of his initial appeal: Trump loathed the American political establishment in precisely the same way many voters did (and still do): These people make stupid, costly, destructive decisions, and they’re never held accountable for them. 

A decade later, Trump is the one making stupid, costly, destructive decisions. The war on Iran is probably the worst American foreign policy move since Iraq, and that’s only one of........

© New Republic