Trump is now the war president

The anti-war schtick is over. The bombs are real.

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For years, Donald Trump sold himself as the “anti-war president.”

It was one of the most effective myths of his political career. Trump cast himself as the guy who stood up to the “deep state,” rejected forever wars, and refused to do the bidding of neocons and Democrats alike. On the campaign trail, he repeatedly reminded voters that he was the only modern president who supposedly didn’t start new conflicts during his first term.

That branding stuck, even though it never really held up under scrutiny.

Now, in Trump’s second term, the entire narrative has flipped. This is no longer a story about an anti-war president whose instincts occasionally drift toward aggression. This is a presidency defined by rapid escalation, routine military force, and almost no institutional restraint.

The Anti-War Myth Collapses

If you look at how Trump is governing in 2025, you are not looking at restraint. Instead you are looking at a president who reaches for military force quickly and casually, often without public debate or authorization.

Trump is not treating war as a last resort he is treating it as a messaging tool.

That shift starts with symbolism that some people try to dismiss as meaningless. Earlier this year, the administration began referring to the Pentagon internally and in official communications as the “Department of War.” You can call that a gimmick if you want, but language reflects priorities. This presidency does not see diplomacy as the default, it sees force as the starting point.

Real Wars, Real Casualties

The record from Trump’s second term makes this impossible to ignore.

The United States launched air and naval strikes in the Caribbean under what the administration labeled Operation Southern Spear. Trump framed it as a maritime action against narco-traffickers. In practice, it functioned as a naval blockade of Venezuela.

That is an act of war, even if it is never formally declared as one.

Dozens of strikes were carried out with more than 100 people killed. It marked the first major U.S. kinetic action in South America since the invasion of Panama in 1989.

Then came Nigeria.

Just days ago, Trump authorized what he described as “numerous perfect strikes” against Islamic State affiliates in northwestern Nigeria. There was no congressional authorization or public debate. No meaningful oversight. Trump announced it himself on Truth Social, framing it as a Christmas message to his base.

A Christmas message of conflict and aggression.

Earlier this year, the administration launched Operation Rough Rider in Yemen, the largest U.S. military operation in the Middle East since Trump’s first term. Hundreds of casualties followed and regional tensions escalated sharply.

And over the summer, Trump authorized direct stealth bomber strikes on Iranian nuclear enrichment sites. These were not symbolic warnings or defensive actions. They were offensive strikes that pushed the region closer to a broader war.

By no serious definition is this an anti-war presidency.

Missiles as Political Theater

What makes this especially dangerous is not just the volume of military action, but how it is being used.

Trump does not appear to view military force as part of a broader diplomatic strategy. He uses it as spectacle. A strike in Nigeria becomes a holiday announcement. A blockade in the Caribbean becomes proof of toughness. Bombing campaigns are framed as branding exercises.

When missiles are used to project dominance rather than resolve conflicts, guardrails disappear. There is no off-ramp. There is no diplomatic endpoint. There is only escalation for the sake of performance.

That is far more dangerous than traditional interventionism.

Selective Anti-War Outrage

Perhaps the most telling part of this story is the reaction from Trump’s so-called anti-war base.

The same people who spent years warning that Democrats would start endless wars have gone silent. Trump escalates in Yemen, authorizes strikes in Nigeria, orders more bombing in a single year than previous administrations did in several… And suddenly it’s “peace through strength.”

They were never anti-war. They were anti-Obama war. Anti-Biden war. War becomes acceptable the moment their guy is the one launching it.

A Presidency Without Guardrails

In a functioning democracy, war is supposed to be hard to start. There is supposed to be debate, transparency, authorization, accountability, and some reverence for human life.

Trump has stripped all of that away. He governs through impulsive escalation with minimal oversight, treating the world’s most powerful military as a personal instrument of political theater.

Donald Trump is not the anti-war president.

He is the most unpredictable war president we have ever had, and perhaps the most dangerous.

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