Trump Pushes U.S. Toward War With Iran As Advisers Urge Focus On Economy

WASHINGTON, Feb 21 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump emphasized the political risks of escalating military tensions ahead of this year’s midterm elections as aides urged him to focus more on voters’ economic concerns.

Trump has ordered a massive buildup of forces in the Middle East and preparations for a potential airstrike on Iran that will last several weeks. But he did not explain in detail to the American public why he might lead the United States to take its most aggressive action against the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.

Trump’s obsession with Iran has emerged as the most striking example of how foreign policy, including the expanded use of raw military force, has risen to the top of his agenda in the first 13 months of his second term; has often eclipsed domestic issues such as the cost of living, which polls show are much higher priorities for most Americans.

Despite Trump’s combative rhetoric, there is still “no unified support” within the administration to pursue an attack on Iran, a senior White House official said.

Trump aides also recognize the need to avoid sending a “distracted message” to undecided voters who are more worried about the economy, the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

White House advisers and Republican campaign officials want Trump to focus on the economy; The issue was highlighted as the most important issue of the campaign at a private briefing attended by several cabinet secretaries this week, according to one person who attended. Trump wasn’t there.

Responding to Reuters’ questions about this news, a second White House official said Trump’s foreign policy agenda “translates directly into gains for the American people.”

“All of the President’s actions put America First, whether it’s making the entire world safer or bringing economic outcomes back home,” the official said.

November’s elections will determine whether Trump’s Republican Party continues to control both houses of the US Congress. A loss of one or both chambers to opposition Democrats would present a challenge for Trump in the final years of his presidency.

Republican strategist Rob Godfrey said a prolonged conflict with Iran would pose significant political danger for Trump and his fellow Republicans.

“The president should keep in mind that the political base that propelled him to the Republican nomination — three times in a row — and remains committed to it, is skeptical of foreign interventions and foreign disturbances because ending the era of ‘forever wars’ was an explicit campaign promise,” Godfrey said.

Republicans plan to campaign on individual tax cuts enacted by Congress last year, as well as programs to lower housing and some prescription drug costs.

Despite some dissenting voices, many in Trump’s isolationist “Make America Great Again” movement supported the blitzkrieg that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last month. However, he may face further backlash if he drags the United States into war with Iran, a much more formidable enemy.

Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to strike Iran if Iran does not reach an agreement on its nuclear program, repeated his warning on Friday, saying Tehran “better make a fair deal.”

The United States targeted nuclear facilities in Iran in June, and Iran has threatened violent retaliation if attacked again.

Trump won re-election in 2024 on an ‘America First’ platform largely on promises to reduce inflation and avoid costly foreign conflicts, but opinion polls show he is struggling to convince Americans that he is making progress on reducing high prices.

Still, Republican strategist Lauren Cooley said Trump’s supporters may support military action against Iran if it is determined and limited.

“The White House will need to clearly tie any action to preserving the security and economic stability of the United States at home,” he said.

Even so, with polls showing little public appetite for another foreign war and Trump struggling to stick to his message of fully addressing voters’ economic concerns, any escalation of tensions with Iran is a risky move for a president who acknowledged in a recent interview with Reuters that his party could be in trouble in the midterm elections.

Foreign policy has historically rarely been a decisive issue for midterm voters. But Trump, who has deployed a large force of aircraft carriers, other warships and warplanes to the Middle East, may be cornering himself into taking military action unless Iran makes major concessions that it has so far been little willing to accept. Otherwise, it may run the risk of appearing weak internationally.

The reasons Trump gave for a possible attack were vague and varied. He first threatened a strike in January in response to the Iranian government’s bloody crackdown on street protests across the country, but later backtracked.

He has recently tied his military threats to demands that Iran end its nuclear program and floated the idea of ​​”regime change,” but he and his aides have not said how airstrikes might achieve that.

The second White House official emphasized that Trump “always preferred diplomacy and made it clear that Iran should make a deal before it is too late.” The official added that the president also emphasized that Iran “cannot have a nuclear weapon or the capacity to produce nuclear weapons, and they cannot enrich uranium.”

What many see as a lack of clarity stands in stark contrast to then-President George W. Bush’s sweeping public prosecution for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which he said was aimed at ridding the country of weapons of mass destruction. Although this mission was based on bad intelligence and false claims, Bush’s stated war objectives were clear from the start.

Godfrey, the Republican strategist, said independent voters who are crucial in deciding the outcome of close elections will scrutinize Trump’s handling of Iran.

“Midterm voters and his base will expect the president to make his case,” he said.

(Reporting by Bo Erickson, Nandita Bose, Matt Spetalnick and Tim Reid, additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle, editing by Ross Colvin and Rosalba O’Brien)