Why Trump is Wrong About Wars: Analysis of Rhetoric vs. Reality Samvada World

While President Trump is considered an anti-war president, it is crucial to understand that these are not necessarily his real intentions.
The president of the United States has limited ability to undo major foreign policy decisions, as U.S. policy is shaped by powerful institutions, interest groups, and the military-industrial complex.
Trump’s call for global denuclearization could be a strategic move to weaken nuclear rivals while maintaining U.S. dominance through conventional military strength.
India must navigate Trump’s policies carefully, balancing U.S. trade demands with its domestic economic interests and national security priorities.

President Trump has been making important decisions ever since he came into power. Some of these decisions are domestic, while others are international, particularly in foreign policy. He is claiming to be the peace broker and the real mediator. Even during his presidential campaign, President Trump advocated that he would end the war in Ukraine. Multiple times, he has stated that the Ukrainian war would not have started if he had been in power in Washington, and he said the same for the Israel-Hamas war that started on October 7, 2023.

Though it is a reality that President Trump is the only American president in the 21st century during whose tenure Russia did not occupy any country, he has also been saying that he will end the war between Israel and Hamas. Now, reports are emerging that his administration is directly negotiating with Hamas officials to end the war. This brings some clarity regarding his claims, though whether he will be able to achieve these goals is a different debate. The conflict in Ukraine has become very tense, and more importantly, while President Trump is considered an anti-war president, it is crucial to understand that these are not necessarily his real intentions.

When President Trump first came to power in 2016, he said he would withdraw from Syria and avoid unnecessary wars, but none of that happened. It was during Trump’s tenure that the hostilities in Ukraine escalated, as he provided Javelin missiles to Ukraine. He even openly admitted this in the Oval Office when President Zelensky visited last week. It is important to understand that President Trump may call himself anti-war, but he cannot completely overhaul American foreign policy.

Can Trump Change US Foreign Policy?

American foreign policy has remained largely the same since 1945 and, in some aspects, even since 1991. No matter who comes to power in Washington, U.S. foreign policy remains consistent. More importantly, the president of the United States has limited ability to undo major foreign policy decisions. There are many other examples from the former President of the United States of America, which indicate that the President of the United States of America is not only responsible for drafting policies.

One major example is back in 2015 when former President Barack Obama initiated the nuclear control talks with Iran, also called the JCPOA talks. The idea of these talks was to take Iran into confidence that it would not build its nuclear weapons, and in return, there would be the removal of the existing sanctions on Iran. It was a good talk, the intentions were right, and both Iran and the United States of America had things to win from it. However, because of certain influences over other parties inside the United States of America, the U.S. backed out from the talks.

Now, the parties that forced President Obama to walk out from the talks were mainly from the defence-industrial complex. If the United States of America had agreed to talks with Iran and somehow created a sense of understanding with Iran, then American military opportunities in West Asia would have been reduced. This is because American military opportunities in West Asia solely depend on the tensions between Iran and the Arabian countries, where the United States of America largely arms Arabian powers like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to give them confidence that their arms would create deterrence against Iran and its proxies. So, if the United States of America had reached any sort of understanding with Iran, a sense of stability would have been created, and that stability could have created a problem for American military opportunities.

Now, the same can be seen when President Trump first came to power in 2016, when President Trump said that there should be a nuclear dialogue with North Korea. But again, the United States of America was not able to reach this dialogue, and the confidence in the talks broke due to pressure from other institutions inside the United States of America.

One more example comes from the time of Bush Jr. when he was the president. During that time President Putin and Bush Jr. were in some sort of agreement, and Bush Jr. even went on to say that he could understand the soul of President Putin. This meant that some détente was seen between Russia and the United States of America during the time of 2005 to 2008. And amid this President Putin once stated to Bush Jr. that the United States of America was fueling anti-Russian sentiments inside Georgia. When this intelligence was shared with President Bush Jr he was expected to take action, but no American action was taken, which later became the pretext for Russia to take over parts of Georgia back in 2008, this not only killed the momentum of good relations between Russia and USA but also suggest that now an American president is not the sole decision-maker and sometime uninformed of existing development.

This raises the question: if the president of the United States holds the most powerful office in the country, why can’t he control or overhaul foreign policy? The reason is that American politics is not solely controlled by the president. There are influential institutions, power players, and an oligarchy that shape U.S. foreign policy. This network is often referred to as the “deep state.”

Now, when President Trump says he wants to end wars, it is essential to take his words with a pinch of salt. The United States has long been obsessed with its idea of Western imperialism, and to maintain its global influence, it feels the need to showcase power, interfere in conflicts, and sustain military engagements.

Another recent development in the U.S. is the establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency, which is being headed by Elon Musk. This department has been targeting federal institutions, as there are over 400 federal agencies that put significant pressure on the American treasury. However, these institutions alone are not the primary reason for America’s mounting debt. The real burden comes from the 800 military bases that the United States maintains worldwide and the numerous wars it has engaged in. The day the U.S. withdraws from these military bases and unnecessary conflicts, not only could President Trump truly be considered a peacemaker, but the country’s debt could also be significantly reduced.

Is Denuclearization a Sane Expectation?

Now, regarding war, President Trump has recently introduced a new idea—denuclearization. Ever since taking office, he has repeatedly stated that nuclear weapons are “crazy,” “disastrous,” and capable of causing massive devastation. This is why he believes it is necessary for the United States, Russia, China, and other nuclear powers to abandon nuclear weapons so the world can become denuclearized.

Just yesterday, President Trump pointed out that Russia has around 3,000 nuclear weapons, while the U.S. has a comparable number, and China is projected to reach similar levels in the next four to five years. Thus, he argues that denuclearization is essential. While this intention may seem noble—since no one truly wants war and everyone desires peace, stability, and prosperity—it is crucial to examine the deeper implications of Trump’s rhetoric.

Analyzing Trump’s statements, one must understand that his call for denuclearization could be a mere pretext for future conflicts. While opinions on nuclear weapons vary, there is no denying that nuclear deterrence has prevented major wars. Nuclear weapons have played a crucial role in maintaining global stability by discouraging full-scale wars between powerful nations.

For instance, nuclear weapons have likely prevented a direct war between NATO and Russia over Ukraine. During the Cold War, nuclear deterrence ensured that the U.S.-Soviet rivalry remained a cold conflict rather than escalating into confrontation. Similarly, in South Asia, despite deep-rooted hostilities between India and Pakistan, their nuclear capabilities have largely restricted conflicts to limited skirmishes rather than full-scale wars.

Even countries like Russia and China are against denuclearization, which is being initiated and put forward by President Putin. Both Russia and China hold the opinion that nuclear weapons are the greatest existing deterrent that a country has. Additionally, both Russia and China also lacked confidence in American trust, especially in the case of Russia, where an agreement was reached after German unification that NATO would not expand eastward beyond Germany. However, NATO did not adhere to this and eventually expanded to reach the borders of Russia. Along with that, even China counters the talk of denuclearization by the United States of America by stating that while the U.S. advocates for denuclearization, it is the very country that is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal.

If we carefully examine President Trump’s denuclearization proposal, we can see how it would directly benefit the United States. The U.S. is a superpower not only in terms of nuclear weapons but also in conventional military strength, advanced technology, and a powerful military-industrial complex. If the world were to become denuclearized, it would give the U.S. an upper hand, as it has unmatched superiority in conventional warfare. This would make it easier for the U.S. to exert its hegemony through traditional military means and pursue the strategic defeat of Russia and other rivals.

While the idea of denuclearization might seem appealing, one cannot ignore the fact that the only country to have ever used nuclear weapons is the United States. It is also important to understand that every country has its own regional and international interests, and what may be in the interest of the United States of America may not necessarily be in the interest of India or some other countries.

How Must India Read Trump’s Antics?

So, when President Trump says denuclearization is important for American interests, this may not necessarily be in the interest of India too. Therefore, it is very important for every country, including India, to focus on its interests and adopt policies that favour those interests. Recently, since the coming of President Trump, the challenge for India to balance U.S. policies and focus on its interests has only increased, especially amid the tariff pressure coming from the President. From time to time, he has said that India should lower tariffs on American imports. So, India must deal with this through diplomacy.

We have already seen that Mexico and Canada have been able to delay their tariffs for almost one month. It was initially said to be imposed from March 1st, but now it has been delayed to April. One of the things India can do is to engage in continuous diplomacy with the United States of America, this can help India to reach a Trade deal with the USA where there would be tariff relaxation for both countries.

However, the challenge for India is how to safeguard its domestic industries. If India reduces American import tariffs, there are slight chances that Indian production may become uncompetitive. One way India can solve this is by introducing certain legislation and policy reforms that strengthen Indian domestic sectors so that parallels can be drawn between Indian industries vis-à-vis American industries.

References:

https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2025-03/news/trump-says-us-open-nuclear-talks
https://apnews.com/article/trump-china-russia-nuclear-bbc1c75920297f1e5ba5556d084da4de
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-says-ukraine-should-never-have-started-it-remarks-war-russia-rcna192710
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/sep/12/putin.georgia?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-iran-nuclear-deal
https://eastasiaforum.org/2020/01/26/kims-new-path-and-the-failure-of-trumps-north-korea-policy/