On Iran, Russia and China, Trump's weakness for strongmen explains his foreign policy

By Jackie Calmes Columnist Follow March 5, 2026 3 AM PT Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X LinkedIn Threads Reddit WhatsApp Copy Link URL Copied! Print p]:text-cms-story-body-color-text clearfix max-w-170 mt-7.5 mb-10 mx-auto" data-subscriber-content> “I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars.” — Donald Trump, in his victory speech Nov. 6, 2024 It’s bad enough that President Trump has broken that oft-repeated pledge and unilaterally started a war, without engaging either Congress or the American public. And that, by his war of choice against Iran, he has in the most perilous way to date betrayed his signature “America First” standard, at least as longtime proponents Marjorie Taylor Greene , Megyn Kelly , Steve Bannon , Tucker Carlson and others mean it, and as many people thought he did too. What’s even worse than Trump’s mendacity about stopping foreign wars is the broader truth that his war on Iran underscores: In the major theaters of U.S. foreign policy — the Mideast, Europe and Asia — he is essentially letting foreigners set his course, America’s course. And to state the obvious: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping do not have America’s interests at heart. Advertisement It has long been a defining contradiction of Trump that the wannabe strongman repeatedly shows himself to be in thrall to the world’s actual strongmen. His affinity for them has for years puzzled observers in this country and abroad. Trump strikes a pose — say, on negotiating with Iran about its nukes program, promising peace in Ukraine, hitting China with tariffs — only to crumple after a phone call, a meeting or a slap back from his opposite number. It’s always hard for a person without a strong core to maintain a stand. Obviously different factors are at play in Trump’s relationships with Israel, a U.S. ally, with longtime adversaries Russia and China and, more specifically, with each nation’s leaders. But a...