On the final night of the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, just days after surviving an assassination attempt, Donald Trump framed his campaign as a return to peace.
He told delegates the world was “teetering on the edge of World War Three,” blamed President Biden for wars in Europe and the Middle East, and cast his own first term as a period of deterrence.
Then came one of the central foreign-policy claims of his campaign: Trump said he was “the first president in modern times to start no new wars.”
Trump ran for office promising to avoid new wars and cast himself as a president who would restore peace through strength. However, his second term has increasingly been defined by a more aggressive and reckless use of presidential war powers.
The most consequential escalation has been Iran. Trump authorized U.S. military strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, a campaign critics say amounted to war without clear congressional authorization. The administration has defended the action as necessary to deter a nuclear Iran and protect U.S. forces and allies. The consequences of the Iran War include the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and increased inflation due to Iran’s shutting down sea lanes in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has also expanded U.S. military pressure in the Western Hemisphere. In January, U.S. forces carried out a major operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of its president, Nicolás Maduro.
The administration’s rhetoric has gone further. Trump has repeatedly discussed U.S. control of Greenland and Canada, and he refused to fully rule out military force regarding Greenland. More recently, tensions with Cuba have intensified, with the administration signaling possible military options.
At home, Trump has moved to revive the “Department of War” label. A White House executive order directed officials to pursue renaming the Defense Department, though the Congressional Budget Office noted the legal name has not been changed by executive order alone.
The shift is also reflected in spending. The administration is seeking a $1.5 trillion defense budget request, described by the department as a sizable increase.
PBS’ FRONTLINE will premiere a new documentary Tuesday examining the key advisers and officials behind President Donald Trump’s use of U.S. military power.
The 90-minute film, FRONTLINE: The War Cabinet, is scheduled to debut May 26 at 10/9c on PBS, pbs.org/frontline, the PBS app and FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel. The documentary looks at Trump’s national security inner circle and how it shaped U.S. military policy, from disputes with allies to targeted strikes and war in the Middle East.
FRONTLINE describes the film as an investigation into “the key players behind President Trump’s expansive use of the U.S. military.” The program examines advisers and officials who sought to project U.S. power during a period marked by growing global instability and sharp debate over America’s role in the world.
The documentary also explores a central tension in Trump’s foreign policy: his repeated promise to avoid new wars, contrasted with later military action abroad.
FRONTLINE frames the film as tracing the path “from ‘no new wars’ to war with Iran,” while scrutinizing how military force became a tool for achieving policy goals and defining Trump’s legacy.
Guest:
Mike Wiser is a Writer-Producer for FRONTLINE. He is an award-winning writer and producer, he has reported on national security, foreign affairs, criminal justice, and the global financial crisis.
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This interview will be recorded live Tuesday, May 26, 2026, at 12:00 p.m.
