The administration of Donald Trump He begins to recognize privately that it may get out of hand. Just four days after the start of military operations, inside the White House due to the lack of a clear story to justify the conflict and for the risk that it may last longer than expected.
Senior government officials admit that the official message has been limited, for now, to explaining what war is not: It is not Iraq, it is not an eternal war and it is not a chosen conflict. But that speech has been weakened by the president’s own statements, who has given contradictory versions and the objective of the campaign.
As the administration tries to justify the attacks by pointing to Iran’s nuclear program, its ballistic missiles or the threat to Israel, allies close to the president warn that time to convince Trump’s political base is running out.
Tension grows within the MAGA movement
The military offensive has opened cracks within the movement itself Make America Great Againwhich for years has been built on the rejection of foreign interventionism and prolonged wars.
There are influential voices from the conservative ecosystem such as Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly or Matt Walsh who have criticized the operation and they reproach the White House for not having clearly explained why it was necessary.
A Republican strategist close to the first Trump administration acknowledges that support is not guaranteed if the conflict drags on. “A significant portion of the base will support him no matter what he does, but there are increasingly louder voices raising legitimate questions,” he explained. “If this is prolonged or goes wrong, those doubts will grow”he added.
The concern is twofold: political and economic. Many Republicans fear that a long war will raise the price of gasoline and weaken the president’s economic message ahead of the elections.
Military casualties and political pressure
Since the attacks began, at least six US service members have been killed in the region. That count especially worrying within Trump’s circlewhere some believe the number of victims could become the main media narrative of the conflict.
“I don’t put a schedule, I put a count of victims”admitted one former administration official when describing how public opinion might judge the war. In parallel, Iran continues to respond with missile and drone attacks against US-linked facilities in the Middle East, which has forced Washington to close embassies, evacuate citizens and reinforce the protection of oil tankers.
The White House tries to limit the scope of the war
Pentagon officials have tried to reassure lawmakers. The head of policy at the Department of Defense, Elbridge Colby insisted before the Senate that the objective is limited and does not imply an occupation or reconstruction of the country. “This is not national construction and it will not be endless,” he assured.
However, Trump himself has contributed to increasing uncertainty. In recent statements, he suggested that the war could end in a matter of days, but also left open the possibility that it could last four or five weeks, and even noted on social media that “wars can be fought forever.”
An explanation that does not convince everyone
The administration has also argued that The military operation came after the failure of diplomatic negotiations with Tehran. According to White House officials, envoys such as Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner concluded that Iran was not negotiating “in good faith” and was only seeking to buy time to preserve its nuclear program.
However, the UN nuclear watchdog maintains that Iran does not currently have a structured program to build a nuclear weapon, something the US administration has downplayed.
For some former officials in the Trump administration himself, the problem is that the president has not yet explained the war to the country clearly. Elliott Abrams, who was the special representative for Iran during Trump’s first term, expressed surprise that the president has not given a formal address to the nation. “He will need public support if this continues beyond next week”he warned.
Fear inside the White House
Privately, some close to the president express it more crudely. If the war does not end soon, they say, the political cost could be enormous. “This has to end quickly or it will be a nightmare”said a person close to the White House. “In fact, it already is, because the MAGA coalition is coming apart at the seams.”
The big question now is not only how long the war will last, but whether the Trump administration will be able to keep the political movement that brought it to power together as the conflict continues to escalate. The question is not keeping the promise of a duration of no more than four or five weeks, but what human cost it entails.
