Trump's go-it-alone certainty confronts the uncertainties of war

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump did not equivocate in his first live address to Americans about the war in Iran.

"We've beaten and completely decimated Iran," he said in a prime-time speech from the White House on Wednesday. "They are decimated both militarily and economically and in every other way."

He added: “Their radar is 100% annihilated. We are unstoppable as a military force.”

His certitude is now colliding with the uncertainty of war.

The American fighter jet that was shot down in Iran on Friday was a searing reminder of the dangers associated with war, prompting a search operation that resulted in the rescue of one crew member. Another U.S. aircraft was hit by Iranian air defenses, Iranian state media reported, days after Trump said Iran had "no anti-aircraft equipment."

For the Republican president, who did not appear in public Friday, the developments were the latest example of his triumphal characterization of the war appearing misplaced.

He has expressed surprise at Iran's moves to strike its Gulf neighbors. He has struggled to respond to Iran's move largely shuttering the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global oil supplies and sending pump prices soaring in the United States. His overtures to world leaders to help him reopen the vital waterway have been rebuffed, with some allies waiting for the fighting to end before addressing that situation and others openly critical of a war that Trump chose to initiate.

Trump has long relied on unyielding self-confidence to propel him through the worlds of business and politics, boasting during the 2016 campaign that “I alone can fix it.” That has often translated into a go-it-alone approach where only Trump has the answers in a chaotic world and dysfunctional Washington. This view of the presidency has justified his executive orders at home and tariffs that affect the global economy.

But the war with Iran, which he undertook alongside Israel and without consulting other allies or Congress, has provided a test like almost nothing before. For Trump, it is no longer “America First” but America alone, and he is the principal.

“You can be the most assertive, aggressive president in the world but you don’t control what happens overseas,” said Julian Zelizer, a history professor at Princeton University.

Some traditional allies speak out

As the war enters its sixth week, that reality is becoming more apparent. Trump spent most of the first year of his second term using trade penalties as a weapon that would force other countries to bend to his will. Today, in a time of war, some traditional American allies are becoming more outspoken.

French President Emmanuel Macron said this week that the United States "can hardly complain afterward that they are not being supported in an operation they chose to undertake alone."

“This is not our operation,” he said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has not budged from his refusal to be drawn into the war despite fierce criticism by Trump. France and the United Kingdom are leading efforts to reopen the strait once the fighting ends.

At home, even some of Trump's fellow Republicans are reinforcing the need to maintain strong international relationships. After the president threatened to withdraw from NATO this week, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said there were not enough votes in the Senate to support that.

“We got an awful lot of people who think that NATO is a very critical, incredibly successful post-World War II alliance,” Thune said of past conversations among Republicans about the move. “I think in the world today, you need allies.”

Trump made no mention of leaving NATO during his White House address.

John Bolton, a first-term Trump national security adviser who has since become an adversary, said the current administration made a "serious mistake" by not consulting allies before going to war.

“If you don’t build your coalition before the war, it’s pretty tough to do it while you’re in it,” said Bolton, who pleaded not guilty last fall to federal charges accusing him of emailing classified information to family members and keeping top secret documents at his Maryland home.

But he also cautioned European leaders against reflexively opposing Trump out of frustration with his lack of consultation. That, Bolton said, would be “juvenile and petulant.”

Trump on his own terms

Trump's penchant to work on his own terms is not limited to the war.

Just this week, he said congressional approval of a ballroom he wants to build at the White House is “not necessary” despite a judge's ruling. He signed an executive order to create a nationwide list of verified eligible voters and to restrict mail-in voting.

In a first for a sitting president, he appeared in the courtroom of the Supreme Court as his administration tried to defend an executive order restricting birthright citizenship.

But as with the war, Trump's go-it-alone strategy at home is also confronting limits.

The Supreme Court struck down his far-reaching tariff program. Democrats quickly challenged his voting executive order in court and, despite his courtroom presence, the justices seemed skeptical of his bid to dismantle the Constitution's provisions providing birthright citizenship.

Then there is the uncertainty about the ballroom.

During private comments at an Easter lunch at the White House this week, Trump — ever the builder — seemed to lament the constraints on his job.

“I’m such a king I can’t get a ballroom approved,” he said to laughter from an audience that included Cabinet members and religious leaders. "I’m doing a lot. But I could be doing a lot more if I was a king.”

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Associated Press writers Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Joey Cappelletti contributed to this report.