Over the last century, presidents have increasingly waged war without congressional approval,
-- in violation of the Constitution.

But even presidents with an appetite for unilateral warmaking have usually felt the need to bring the public along
—to provide a justification, however pretextual, for their foreign policy plans.

As with so many other laws and norms, Donald Trump has shattered that tradition.
The war he launched against Iran in February 2026 involved no effort to explain to voters why we were fighting.
Even after the fact, Trump showed little belief that there was any need to persuade the public that he was justified or correct.
It was a war of pure presidential whim.

Trump’s illegal and unconstrained warmongering stems, in part,
from his contempt for democratic decision-making
—and a toxic stew of racism and Islamophobia.

But his belligerence is also fueled by crony capitalism.

After invading Venezuela in January 2026, Trump made his motives stunningly clear, crowing that
“Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels” of oil,
and the “money” from it “will be controlled by me.”

He repeated that move with Iran,
declaring that
“if it were up to me, I’d take the oil.”

Indeed, Trump’s basic approach to foreign policy is to enrich himself, his family, and his advisers
through investment deals and free planes.

Trumpian foreign policy is bribery, white supremacy, and authoritarianism all the way down
https://newrepublic.com/article/214999/military-privatization-trump-warmongering