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Trump’s Strike on Iran Is as American First as It Gets

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PoliticsSecurityCommentary

Trump’s Strike on Iran Is as American First as It Gets

President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., March 3, 2026. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)

Jenny Beth Martin / @jennybethm

Jenny Beth Martin is honorary chairman of Tea Party Patriots Action.

President Donald Trump was elected on a simple, clear promise to put America first. Not America alone, and not America apologizing. America first.

His decision to strike Iran in coordination with Israel is the fulfillment of that promise.

For 47 years, Iran’s regime has chanted “Death to America,” funded terrorist proxies, attacked U.S. personnel, targeted international shipping lanes, and openly pursued regional domination. Weak presidents issued statements. They drew red lines in disappearing ink. They sent pallets of cash and hoped for moderation. Trump did something different. He restored deterrence.

“America First” means recognizing that the primary duty of the commander-in-chief is to protect American lives, American interests, and American sovereignty. When Iran coordinates with terrorist networks, threatens our troops, and works hand-in-glove with America’s adversaries, a decisive strike that degrades its capacity to harm us is self-defense.

Some voices on the right have objected. Some have argued that this move departs from what they believed Trump’s foreign policy would be. They warn of entanglement. They invoke Iraq. They caution against regime change.

Many in the grassroots fought the disastrous nation-building experiments of the past. We opposed wars that drained American blood and treasure with no clear objective. But that is not what this is.

Trump did not ask Congress for an open-ended commitment. He did not announce a decades-long democratization campaign. He did not commit America’s troops to policing another country’s internal politics. He authorized a targeted strike in coordination with an ally to eliminate a clear and present danger.

The caricature of America First pushed by some critics reduces it to isolationism. But America First has never meant retreat or withdrawal. It has meant strength without apology. It has meant peace through strength. It has meant that adversaries understand that attacking Americans will come at a price.

Ronald Reagan understood that. So did Trump in his first term, when he ordered the strike that eliminated ISIS’ territorial caliphate and when he authorized the operation against Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps chief Qasem Soleimani. Those actions did not launch World War III. They reestablished deterrence. 

Iran’s regime thrives on the perception of American weakness. When Washington sends mixed signals, Tehran fills the vacuum. When America hesitates, Iran’s proxies escalate. A measured but unmistakable military response tells the ayatollahs that the days of testing America without consequence are over.

Critics argue that coordination with Israel somehow proves that this is not America First. That argument misunderstands both alliances and sovereignty. Supporting an ally when our interests align is not subservience, it is strategic realism. Israel faces the same Iranian missiles, the same proxy networks, and the same destabilizing ambitions that threaten U.S. forces and assets. Neutralizing a shared threat is mutual defense and nothing more.

America First does not require America to stand alone while enemies collaborate.

It also does not require Trump to ignore the world as it is. The Middle East is not a distant abstraction. It affects global energy markets, international shipping, and the security architecture that protects American prosperity. Allowing Iran to expand unchecked would not keep us out of conflict. It would invite larger, more dangerous confrontations later.

There is a deeper principle at stake. Sovereignty means control over your borders, your economy, and your security. A regime that openly plots harm against Americans forfeits any expectation that we will simply tolerate it. The strike signals that the United States will not outsource its security to international committees or wait for consensus from adversaries.

The grassroots did not elect Trump to be passive. They elected him to be decisive. They elected him to reverse the culture of apology that defined previous administrations. They elected him to ensure that when America speaks, the world listens.

The same critics who now warn of “mission creep” should recognize that strength, applied clearly and narrowly, prevents the very quagmires they fear. Deterrence is cheaper than war. Clarity is safer than ambiguity.

Trump’s action was limited, purposeful, and aligned with American interests. It degraded the capabilities of a hostile regime. It reinforced a critical alliance. It reminded the world that American resolve is not a relic of the past.

America First is not a slogan for rallies. It is a governing philosophy. It says that American lives come first, American security comes first, and American strength comes first.

That is exactly what this strike represents.

The alternative is not peace. It is drift. And drift in a dangerous world is not prudence, it is peril.

Trump chose strength. That is the promise kept.

We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal.

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