As of the writing of this story, the United States returned to bombing Iran.
The war isn't popular with the American people, which gives me hope that opposition to the administration is strong and effective. The American people have paid the cost of the war in both casualties, although they're small, and in higher gas prices. Although the Make America Great Again movement, an authoritarian political form, has introduced some new ideas to the Republican Party - protectionist trade policy and opposition to the privatization of Medicare and Social Security, at least in the near term, there are continuities between Trump and past Republican presidents, as stated by writer Michael Lind in his story, "The Bush GOP Never Went Away." The website Factually stated: "The White House budget submission for FY2027 did not include language repealing or directly cutting monthly Social Security benefit checks or Medicare entitlements and in fact requested increases for veterans' discretionary funding, but it reallocated large swaths of domestic discretionary dollars toward defense-- moves that could create political pressure to change entitlements later. Multiple outlets reported the same baseline: the budget itself stops short of direct cuts to benefit levels even as it signals austerity across nondefense programs."
Lind called the Trump party "as simply the Bush party, only with vulgar rhetoric." I understand what he's saying. Like Reagan and the second Bush, Trump made tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans a key part of his economic program. He also sees a continuity between past Republican administrations and the Trump Administration on wage policy and the influence of small business. Lind said: "For most small businesses, wages plus benefits and payroll taxes are the greatest cost. Mainstream Republican policies toward American workers under Trump and the two Bushes form a consistent policy designed to minimize the bargaining power of workers in wage negotiations and to make workers so economically desperate they will be compelled to take jobs with poor pay and bad working conditions. Some of these policies -- such as unremitting hostility to organized labor -- have obvious benefits for cheap-labor small businesses." In addition, Trump, who swore he wouldn't cut Medicaid when he ran in 2016, cut Medicaid in both terms.
There's another continuity between Trump and past Republican presidents: the use of military force. Since the 1970's, the Republicans have painted the Democrats as "weak on defense." Lind stated another fact on past Republican presidents' use of the military: Republican Presidents like George HW Bush, George W Bush, and now Donald Trump have waged wars of choice in the Middle East. Although it must be added that George HW Bush's 1991 war came because of Saddam Hussein's illegal invasion of Kuwait, and the first Bush also received United Nations approval.
Lind called the Iran war "a Pearl Harbor sneak attack" in another story, and without a doubt, it's an illegal war waged by the US and its ally Israel. This administration is a combination of MAGA right-wing populism and traditional Republican positions. This combination led former MAGA voices like Tucker Carlson and Marjorie Taylor Greene to criticize the President on several things - including his stance on Israel and the Iran war.
What's the answer to an administration that adheres to so many toxic currents in American politics? It must be defeated at the polls this November and again in 2028. There's no other way to end this trend in American politics. It takes organization and voting.
Jason Sibert is the Lead Writer of the Peace Economy Project
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