But does he? If the illegal and unconstitutional actions had been accomplished legally, would they still be considered as having contributed to the greater good?
One of the things Trump campaigned on was the promise to keep us out of "forever wars". During his 2024 campaign he made the point that he was the first president in decades to have not started a war. That last one wasn't quite accurate, Obama didn't start any new ones either. But it was true; even though he made use of the military often, including bombing Syria and assassinating an Iranian general, there weren't any new wars in his first term. He failed to end the war we were in in Afghanistan though, and set the stage for a messy exit during the early days of Biden's term. But can his supporters legitimately claim that technically no new wars were started during his first term? Yes they can.
Trump's "president of peace" schtick wore a little thin when he got us involved in one of Israel's wars, dropping bombs on Iran's nuclear facilities. I'm still amazed that Iran's retaliation was as moderate as it was. This bombing also seemed at odds with Trump supposed policy of isolationism. But Iran is a whole 'nother subject.
Speaking of peace, Trump seems bound and determined to get a Nobel Peace Prize for himself. Before the election he mocked President Biden for being "weak", which he claimed was the reason that there were wars all over the world that wouldn't have started if he was president. He said that he'd end the Russia-Ukraine War "in 24 hours...even before he was inaugurated". He boasted that he could end the Israeli war in Gaza. Israel and Gaza did agree on a cease-fire just before he took office mediated jointly by Biden and Trump team negotiators. Which of course Trump took credit for. As we all know, Israel soon continued its war in Gaza and Ukraine and Russia are still going at it. Trump found out that he couldn't bully Zelenskyy into rolling over and accepting Putin's land grab and that he wasn't as buddy-buddy with Putin as he thought he was. Putin wasn't suddenly going to change his whole foreign policy because Trump posted "Vlad! Stop!" on Truth Social. Trumpists are curiously silent about Trump's failure in the sphere.
But their boy Donnie isn't giving up on that Nobel Prize just yet. Every regional pissing match around the globe has Trump claiming that he negotiated "peace" when they run out of bullets. India-Pakistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)-Rwanda, Thailand-Cambodia are all claimed as "wins". India has denied that Trump had anything to do with the cessation of hostilities which will surely heat up again the next time somebody's soccer ball rolls across the border in Kashmir. With Cambodia and Thailand he's threatening tariffs if they don't kiss and make up. Do I even need to explain how stupid that is? DRC and Rwanda have been fighting for 30 years, and while the United States did mediate an agreement, this is simply the latest in a long string of agreements that one or the other side has broken. Egypt and Sudan are arguing with Ethiopia about a damn Ethiopia built on the Nile. They're not at war and all Trump has done is comment that there should be water in the Nile. Apparently he's also claiming that he stopped a war where there wasn't a war, Serbia-Kosovo, both nations are perplexed by the suggestion that there was a war that Trump had to prevent. And the wildest at all, Trump is claiming that dropping mega-bombs on Iran should be recognized as ending the "12-Day War" between Israel and Iran.
Trumpists claiming these "peace negotiations" as Trump accomplishments are simply believing their cult leader's unsupported assertions (lies). The big ones, the ones that he cannot take unearned credit for, Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Gaza are still raging.
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