Donald Trump was the first!
- Thread starter Jarod
- Start date
Poor Parson Brad.
The claim is false (or at most highly premature partisan hyperbole).
The full post on justplainpolitics.com (thread started today by user Jarod) is simply: “Donald Trump was the first American to both start and lose a war.” It has no further elaboration or replies visible without login.
This refers to the 2026 U.S.-Iran conflict (sometimes called Operation Epic Fury or similar). On or around February 28, 2026, the U.S. (under Trump’s second term) and Israel launched major airstrikes on Iran. These included strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other senior figures, hit nuclear and military sites, and escalated into sustained hostilities involving U.S. forces, Iranian responses across the region (including attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz), U.S. casualties, economic effects (oil/gas price spikes), and naval actions/blockades.
Trump initially projected a quick, decisive outcome (days or a few weeks). Ceasefires and memoranda of understanding were announced (e.g., around June 2026) but repeatedly collapsed amid mutual accusations of violations, renewed strikes, and disputes over the strait, sanctions, and nuclear issues. As of mid-August 2026 the situation remains unsettled, with cycles of escalation, stalled negotiations, and ongoing costs.
Yes, by standard descriptions. The major combat operations originated with the U.S./Israeli decision to launch large-scale strikes in February 2026. Trump ordered or authorized the U.S. participation, notified Congress at points of resumption, and the conflict has involved sustained U.S. military action, casualties (dozens of U.S. deaths and hundreds wounded reported in some tallies), and significant resource expenditure. Formal congressional declarations of war are rare in modern U.S. history; this fits the pattern of post-WWII presidential-initiated conflicts.
Not conclusively—as of now the conflict is ongoing and has not ended in a settled defeat.
A definitive “loss” typically requires the war to conclude on clearly unfavorable terms. Premature declarations of either victory or total defeat are common in ongoing conflicts.
No. Clear historical counterexamples exist:
Other cases involve draws/armistices (Korea under Truman) or contested outcomes (Iraq under George W. Bush; Afghanistan, started under Bush and ended under Biden after a Trump-negotiated framework). The U.S. has a long record of wars of choice or escalations that did not produce clear, lasting victories matching the initial political goals.
Trump initiated major combat operations against Iran in 2026 that became a sustained, costly conflict whose strategic objectives remain unmet. Calling the current state an outright “loss” is a judgment call while fighting and diplomacy continue. Claiming he is the first American (or president) to both start and lose a war ignores well-documented earlier cases, especially Madison/War of 1812 and the Vietnam escalation. The forum post is a pointed, one-line political jab rather than a precise historical statement.
The claim is false (or at most highly premature partisan hyperbole).
The full post on justplainpolitics.com (thread started today by user Jarod) is simply: “Donald Trump was the first American to both start and lose a war.” It has no further elaboration or replies visible without login.
Context of the claim
This refers to the 2026 U.S.-Iran conflict (sometimes called Operation Epic Fury or similar). On or around February 28, 2026, the U.S. (under Trump’s second term) and Israel launched major airstrikes on Iran. These included strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other senior figures, hit nuclear and military sites, and escalated into sustained hostilities involving U.S. forces, Iranian responses across the region (including attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz), U.S. casualties, economic effects (oil/gas price spikes), and naval actions/blockades.
Trump initially projected a quick, decisive outcome (days or a few weeks). Ceasefires and memoranda of understanding were announced (e.g., around June 2026) but repeatedly collapsed amid mutual accusations of violations, renewed strikes, and disputes over the strait, sanctions, and nuclear issues. As of mid-August 2026 the situation remains unsettled, with cycles of escalation, stalled negotiations, and ongoing costs.
Did Trump “start” a war?
Yes, by standard descriptions. The major combat operations originated with the U.S./Israeli decision to launch large-scale strikes in February 2026. Trump ordered or authorized the U.S. participation, notified Congress at points of resumption, and the conflict has involved sustained U.S. military action, casualties (dozens of U.S. deaths and hundreds wounded reported in some tallies), and significant resource expenditure. Formal congressional declarations of war are rare in modern U.S. history; this fits the pattern of post-WWII presidential-initiated conflicts.
Has he “lost” it?
Not conclusively—as of now the conflict is ongoing and has not ended in a settled defeat.
- Tactical results include heavy damage to Iranian infrastructure/military assets, leadership losses, and temporary pressure.
- Strategic goals (fully eliminating the nuclear program, lasting regime change or a compliant successor government, permanent secure access to the Strait of Hormuz without major Iranian leverage or concessions, quick low-cost resolution) have not been achieved.
- Critics and multiple analyses describe setbacks, a “stuck” or “no-exit” position, high economic/political costs for the U.S., Iranian resilience or gains in relative control of the strait, and outcomes short of the initial claims of victory. Some outlets have used language of defeat or failure.
A definitive “loss” typically requires the war to conclude on clearly unfavorable terms. Premature declarations of either victory or total defeat are common in ongoing conflicts.
Is he the “first American” (or first U.S. president) to both start and lose one?
No. Clear historical counterexamples exist:
- James Madison and the War of 1812: Madison sought and signed the congressional declaration of war against Britain in June 1812 (the first such formal declaration by a sitting U.S. president in that sense). U.S. invasions of Canada failed; the British burned Washington, D.C.; the Treaty of Ghent (1814/1815) restored the pre-war status quo with no major territorial or policy gains for the U.S. on the core issues that prompted the war. It is widely regarded as a stalemate or draw at best, and a strategic disappointment for the war’s American proponents.
- Vietnam: Lyndon B. Johnson dramatically escalated U.S. involvement after the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution into a major ground war with hundreds of thousands of troops. The United States ultimately withdrew; South Vietnam fell in 1975. This is the clearest modern example of a large-scale U.S. war that ended in strategic defeat for the side that had escalated it into a full commitment. (Later presidents continued and then exited it.)
Other cases involve draws/armistices (Korea under Truman) or contested outcomes (Iraq under George W. Bush; Afghanistan, started under Bush and ended under Biden after a Trump-negotiated framework). The U.S. has a long record of wars of choice or escalations that did not produce clear, lasting victories matching the initial political goals.
Bottom line
Trump initiated major combat operations against Iran in 2026 that became a sustained, costly conflict whose strategic objectives remain unmet. Calling the current state an outright “loss” is a judgment call while fighting and diplomacy continue. Claiming he is the first American (or president) to both start and lose a war ignores well-documented earlier cases, especially Madison/War of 1812 and the Vietnam escalation. The forum post is a pointed, one-line political jab rather than a precise historical statement.
Trump did a sneak attack on Iran when we were engaged in negotiations. That is obscene. Then Trump made claim after claim, saying he militarily destroyed a nation we were not at war with. I know the right has no trouble doing shit like that. We have ended ethics, morality, and taken the solemnity of our word and trashed it. America can not be trusted. That is just a few of many wounds that Trump has inflicted on America,
IMPEACH!
Is it?
Have you told Parson Brad?
Do you?
Is that so?
Is that a fact?
It is? Name them.
Luis is APP.