Did Trump’s threat of regime change in Iran break a campaign promise?
Donald Trump campaigned against new foreign wars and regime change when he ran in 2024.
Now, the president appears to be contradicting his campaign rhetoric after he ordered the strikes over the weekend on three nuclear sites in Iran.
A year ago, Trump said he believes “the job of the United States military is not to wage endless regime change wars around the globe — the job of the United States military is to defend America from attack and invasion here at home.”
But on Sunday, the president left the door open to regime change in Iran, while slightly altering his campaign slogan for the people of the Islamic republic.
“It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change,’ but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!,” the president posted to his Truth Social account.
Trump’s post appeared to contradict both his campaign position and the views expressed by Vice President JD Vance just hours earlier.
“Our view has been very clear that we don’t want a regime change,” Vance told NBC “Meet the Press” anchor Kristen Welker on Sunday.
“We do not want to protract this or build this out any more than it’s been built our,” the vice president continued.
“We believe very strongly that there are two pathways: there’s a pathway where Iran continues to fund terrorism, continues to try to build a nuclear program, attacks American troops — that’s the bad pathway for Iran, and it will be met with overwhelming force.
“There’s another pathway on the table here: there’s a pathway where Iran integrates itself into the international community, stops funding terrorism and stops trying to pursue a nuclear weapon.
“This is a reset,” Vance said. “This is an opportunity for the Iranians to take the smart path. We certainly hope that they will.”