Those who are outraged today by Donald Trump’s stance on Iran — as if it were a sudden whim — simply haven’t done their homework. Trump doesn’t improvise. He never has. On April 27, 2016, at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., he didn’t deliver just another campaign speech. He presented a written, carefully structured address outlining the core of his “America First” doctrine.
It was a clear break with the globalist dogma and soft interventionism of previous administrations. A speech with a precise focus on a declared threat: Iran. Yet, the usual analysts — the ones who love to throw around words like “populist” and “irresponsible” — seem never to have read that speech. Or more likely, they ignore it on purpose, because acknowledging that Trump had a coherent vision would undermine their entire narrative.
That day, Trump avoided diplomatic euphemisms. He said: «One of the greatest security threats facing peace-loving nations today is the repressive regime in Iran.» And he didn’t stop there: «Not only is Iran the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, but Iranian leaders are fueling the tragic wars in both Syria and Yemen.»
On Iran’s nuclear ambitions, he was crystal clear: «Meanwhile, the regime is squandering the nation’s wealth and future in a fanatical quest for nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them. We cannot allow this to ever happen.» He called the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), signed by Obama, nothing more than a surrender disguised as diplomacy: «An agreement that did not allow inspection of key sites and did not cover ballistic missiles.»
He didn’t call for immediate withdrawal — he wasn’t president yet — but his words were a commitment to the American people: if elected, he would act. And he did.
As president, Trump turned the rhetoric of 2016 into concrete policy. On May 8, 2018, he withdrew the United States from the JCPOA, calling it «one of the worst agreements ever signed.» He reimposed sanctions that struck the heart of the Iranian regime: Iran’s GDP shrank by 6% in 2019; oil exports dropped from 2.7 million barrels per day in 2018 to less than 300,000 in 2020 (according to the International Energy Agency); and the rial lost 80% of its value after Iranian banks were disconnected from the SWIFT system.
In 2020, Trump brokered the Abraham Accords, bringing together Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco into a regional front that isolated Tehran diplomatically. On January 3, 2020, he ordered the targeted killing of Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force and mastermind of Iran’s regional aggression. «We acted to prevent imminent attacks against Americans,» he stated, sending a clear message: the United States would no longer look the other way.
Today, after the disastrous interlude of the Biden presidency — marked by ambiguity, strategic weakness, and unilateral concessions — the Middle East is a powder keg. And recent events mark a critical turning point. Israel has launched an unprecedented air campaign against Iran, targeting nuclear facilities like Natanz, the Defense Ministry in Tehran, and key oil infrastructure, while Iran has responded with waves of missiles against Tel Aviv and Haifa.
The elimination of six senior Iranian commanders — including IRGC chief Hossein Salami and nuclear negotiator Ali Shamkhani — has decapitated Tehran’s chain of command. The regime, facing mounting domestic unrest and international pressure, appears to be faltering. Sources report that Iran is now «practically at the negotiating table,» while Trump demands its «unconditional surrender» and warns that any attack on U.S. military installations will be met with «overwhelming force.» For his part, Netanyahu has declared that Israel will strike «every site and every target of the ayatollahs’ regime,» suggesting that regime collapse is no longer unthinkable.
This confrontation didn’t begin yesterday. It’s the direct continuation of what Trump said in 2016: «We must develop a long-term strategy to stop the expansion of Iran and the terrorism it supports.» And again: «America must be prepared to let bad deals fail.» The JCPOA was one of those deals — and Trump made sure it failed.
His current support for Israel — recently reaffirmed with a message urging Iran to evacuate and labeling Supreme Leader Khamenei an «easy target» — is not some improvised stunt. It’s the natural continuation of a strategy based on deterrence and clarity: America will not tolerate regimes that chant «Death to America» while building the world’s most dangerous weapons.
«We cannot allow a regime that chants ‘Death to America’ to obtain the most dangerous weapons in the world,» Trump said in 2016. And today, with Iran weakened by years of sanctions, targeted strikes, and internal dissent, that warning is more relevant than ever.
Those feigning outrage at Trump’s support for Israel either don’t understand or pretend not to. His policies strengthened both Israel and its Arab partners. The Abraham Accords remain a bulwark against Iranian expansion. Sanctions crippled Tehran’s economy and fueled mass protests. Soleimani’s elimination decapitated the regime’s terror operations. And Israel’s ongoing strikes are now pushing the regime closer to collapse.
Still, the usual commentators — the ones who never read a single line of Trump’s Mayflower speech — cry “populism” or “provocation.” They mock Trump for not achieving peace in six months, as if allowing Iran to arm Hezbollah, Hamas, and its proxies undisturbed were some enlightened peace strategy. As if ignoring a regime that threatens the West were a sign of wisdom.
The real scandal is not Trump. It’s the hypocrisy of those who portray him as a reckless improviser. His 2016 words were not empty slogans — they were a plan. And the facts — from JCPOA withdrawal to Soleimani’s elimination, from the Abraham Accords to his unambiguous support for Israel — prove it.
Those who are outraged are either uninformed or — more likely — acting in bad faith. Politicians, journalists, analysts: all complicit in a narrative built on distortion. Because admitting that Trump was right about Iran — a regime that destabilizes the region and threatens the West — would mean dismantling years of propaganda.
Reread the 2016 speech. Look at what he did between 2017 and 2021. Compare it to the chaos today. Trump’s consistency is not a matter of opinion. It’s a fact. And those who deny it don’t deserve to be taken seriously.
