Trump’s Illegal, Unconstitutional War is Not America’s War.
Article republished by Jerry Alatalo | May 6, 2026
(Source: LewRockwell.com)
[Editor’s note: Mr. Hornberger drives to the heart of the matter:
“For the life of me, I don’t see how Trump’s failure in Iran would also be America’s failure in Iran. I wish the Journal had explained its reasoning. I hope it still does.
This is Trump’s war. Not America’s. Trump’s!”
Please share far and wide, and feel free to share your response(s) in the comments. Thank you very much. Peace.]
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Trump’s War on Iran Is Not America’s War
By Jacob G. Hornberger
The Future of Freedom Foundation
May 6, 2026
In a recent editorial exhorting President Trump to stay the course in Iran, the Wall Street Journal wrote, “Democrats in Congress are hoping for Mr. Trump’s failure in Iran, as if that wouldn’t also be America’s.”
For the life of me, I don’t see how Trump’s failure in Iran would also be America’s failure in Iran. I wish the Journal had explained its reasoning. I hope it still does.
This is Trump’s war. Not America’s. Trump’s!
Let’s keep in mind some basic facts. Trump launched this war all on his own. Well, okay, not entirely on his own. He launched it in consultation and partnership with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two of them got together and decided to initiate their war on Iran, clearly thinking that it would be over within a few short weeks.
One fact is undisputed. Trump did not go to Congress, which consists of the elected representatives of the American people, to secure a declaration of war before launching his war of aggression on Iran. He (as well as the Wall Street Journal editorial board) knows full well that that is what the U.S. Constitution requires.
The Constitution is the law. It is the higher law that we the people have imposed on Trump and all other federal officials. Trump is required to obey our law, just as the American people are required to obey laws enacted by Congress (and enforced by Trump and other executive branch officials).
Trump chose not to obey the law. He chose to break it. He chose to launch his war on Iran all on his own. He knew that when he launched his war, he was breaking the law — our law — the law of the Constitution.
Therefore, how in the world can Trump’s illegal war, which he launched without the consent of the American people, as required by law, possibly be converted into America’s war? I just don’t get it. I wish the Journal’s editorial board would explain its reasoning.
If Trump’s illegal war of aggression against Iran results in his failure, why isn’t that his failure alone? Why is it also the failure of our country?
There is another indisputable fact here. The federal government and our nation are two separate and distinct entities. This phenomenon is reflected by the Bill of Rights, which expressly protects the country from the federal government. Thus, if the federal government does things that are contrary to the best interests of the country, why in the world should the country feel obligated to support the federal government? That makes no sense.
If Trump’s illegal war is damaging America, which it obviously is, why isn’t it the right and duty of the American people to oppose it and do everything to bring it to a stop?
Wouldn’t that be a success for America even if it is a failure for Trump? Indeed, doesn’t the American Declaration of Independence, whose 250th anniversary we will be celebrating this Fourth of July, state that whenever the government becomes destructive of the rights and liberties of the citizenry, it is the right and duty of the citizenry to alter or abolish it?
I can’t help but think about the story of the White Rose, which was a group of college students in Nazi Germany who decided to oppose their own government in the middle of World War II. Distributing pamphlets that they had secretly written and published, the White Rose students, led by brother and sister Hans and Sophie Scholl, exhorted the country to not support the German troops and instead to rise up and stop Hitler and the Nazis from continuing their war.
If they had succeeded, wouldn’t that have been a success for Germany even if a failure for Hitler?
Hitler and the Nazis went ballistic over the White Rose pamphlets. It was the first time that dissent had openly surfaced in Nazi Germany. Didn’t these White Rose students understand that Hitler’s failure in the war would mean Germany’s failure? Didn’t these students have a moral duty to support their government and its troops in time of war? (See my essay “The White Rose: A Lesson in Dissent,” which is my most favorite essay in the 36-year history of The Future of Freedom Foundation.)
The Gestapo succeeded in arresting Hans and Sophie and the other members of the White Rose. At their quick trial, the head of the tribunal charged with judging them, a man named Roland Freisler, harshly condemned them for their lack of patriotism. In Freisler’s mind, their parents had done a lousy job in raising them. They needed to be executed for treason, and they quickly were. See the great movie .
The Wall Street Journal is wrong. When Trump (or any other U.S. president) launches an unprovoked war of aggression — and an illegal one at that — any failure he suffers is his and his alone (along with, of course, his national-security establishment) and not the failure of the country.
Indeed, it is the right and the moral duty of the country to oppose any such illegal, deadly, and destructive war of aggression and do whatever is necessary to bring it to an immediate halt.
Reprinted with permission from The Future of Freedom Foundation.
#ConstitutionalLaw #DonaldTrump #InternationalLaw #IranWar #Politics #StraitOfHormuz #USConstitution
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