Veteran defense analyst says Trump’s Iran war has shattered his voter appeal

In a column for The i Paper, veteran war reporter Robert Fox contends that President Donald Trump’s management of the Iran war has left his reputation among voters in tatters. The conflict, intended to be brief, has now persisted for over half a year, with recent U.S. attacks on Iran’s Larak Island signaling an escalation. Fox warns that meaningful peace talks are improbable before the U.S. midterm elections in early November and Israel’s election on 27 October, which could drive up energy prices for American consumers.

He attributes part of the military strain to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s focus on “video wargame culture,” resulting in depleted ammunition stocks and officer purges favoring MAGA loyalists. The column also notes the morale challenges faced by crew on the USS Abraham Lincoln and highlights the adversarial stance of Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has called for Muslim unity against a common enemy. Fox concludes that the fallout from the war will become evident in the November elections, damaging Trump’s prospects.