Donald Trump’s decision to bomb the Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend have been greeted by the usual outrage of the mob plagued by Trump derangement syndrome. No matter what Trump does, Trump is wrong by virtue of being Donald Trump. The outrage over Trump’s courageous decision, though, is nothing but hypocrisy and theatrical grandstanding.
First, we must understand the train of events that has led to this war between Israel and Iran over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. For most of the 21st century, the prospect of a nuclear Iran has haunted America and Israel -- the two nations condemned to death and destruction by the radical regime in Tehran and its fanatical militant supporters. There has even been rhetorical agreement between Democrats and Republicans that a nuclear Iran is a grave threat to national security.
Now the divergence occurs. President Obama agreed to a nuclear treaty with Iran, proclaiming it would halt the Iranian nuclear program. Freeing up billions of dollars for Iran, the Iranians embarked on an aggressive terror funding campaign with its proxies around the Middle East. The JCPOA was quickly violated by Iran in 2019, which the IAEA confirmed. Nothing was done -- until now.
Since the October 7, 2023 attacks, Israel has unleashed a devastating military campaign against its terroristic enemies. Hamas and Hezb’allah have been effectively destroyed. Bashar al-Assad, the staunch ally of Iran, is also gone. With Iran’s proxies dismantled and no longer having to face the specter of an Iranian-backed Syria, Israeli was prompted to strike at Iran in the belief that Iran was weak. Iran was.
The weakness of Iran, seen in its inability to counter Israel’s initial attacks, revealed to the world -- but especially to Donald Trump -- that Iran’s nuclear facilities were vulnerable. The fog of war was lifted by Israel’s attack. Trump, who had previously said he would not allow Iran to ever get a nuclear bomb, seized the opportunity to launch the attack on the Iranian nuclear facilities that has shattered the credibility of the mullah regime in Tehran.
Cue the music of outrage.
Within a few minutes of Trump’s announcement of military action, a choir of critics vented their outrage. Some called for impeachment. Others for an investigation. Others were adamant that Trump’s strike was illegal. Others began calling Trump a war criminal.
The diabolical outrage over Trump’s decision is hypocritical. Were these same Democrats, like Nancy Pelosi, calling Obama’s decision to bomb Libya illegal? Did Nancy Pelosi call Joe Biden’s decision to attack the Houthis in Yemen illegal? No. It’s all political theater. Likewise, the mass of protestors claiming the criminality and illegality of the strike were conspicuously quiet under Obama and Biden.
Additionally, the cries of those claiming the unconstitutionality of Trump’s decision ring hollow, since these same politicians do not lift a finger and complain about all the other actions of government that can be deemed as bypassing the Constitution. The Constitution only matters when they can make a quick, and cheap, political point on social media or in front of the television camera. It would be nice if our politicians cared about the Constitution more, but we shouldn’t be fooled by their feigned outrage, which exists only because Donald Trump is President.
Beyond the hypocritical outrage, the animosity against Trump’s decision reveals another problem: the inability of many to confront evil. In the 1950s, the great political philosopher Eric Voegelin noted that all politics is a manifestation of spiritual struggle because human nature is spiritual. Any politics that refuses to acknowledge the spiritual, metaphysical, dimension of human existence is not political science at all because it fails to have knowledge of the most intimate reality of human nature: the spiritual.
Evil is a spiritual reality that emerges from spiritual disease and disorder. Weakness, spiritual weakness, the inability to see Evil for what it is, allows Evil to grow and strengthen itself. Eventually, spiritual Evil takes on incarnate form. At this point, the confrontation with Evil becomes inevitable. Spiritual courage is needed to confront Evil at this moment.
The reactions against Trump’s decision to attack the Iranian nuclear sites reveals the spiritual weakness of his critics. They turn a blind eye to the obvious Evil of the Iranian regime, with some even suggesting and arguing that the United States is the great Evil power. Boy, they sound like the “death to America!” crowd in Iran. And let’s not forget the irony of these leftists who would also say that morality is relative. Cognitive impairment much?
Donald Trump breaks the brains of his critics and opponents because they cannot see the world of politics in its actual form: a spiritual struggle between Good and Evil. When Donald Trump closed his oval office address, his closing words reveal that he understands the stakes: “I want to just thank everybody. And, in particular, God. I want to just say, we love you, God, and we love our great military. Protect them. God bless the Middle East. God bless Israel and God bless America. Thank you very much. Thank you.”
Paul Krause is the editor of VoegelinView. A teacher of the humanities, he is also the author of several books, including, Muses of a Fire: Essays on Faith, Film, and Literature and The Odyssey of Love: A Christian Guide to the Great Books.
Image: AT via Magic Studio