The decision was absolutely, unreservedly the right one.

Israel and America’s decision to move against the Iranian regime, that is. For decades, Iran’s Islamist leaders have murdered and brutalized their own people — and exported terror all around the globe.

KINSELLA: Iran strike right call, but one Donald Trump may end up regretting Back to video

So the decision to take action was the right one and it was overdue. But make no mistake: The Israel-America-Iran conflict is likely to become very unpopular, very soon. Ten reasons.

Donald Trump is the most reviled U.S. president in decades, perhaps ever. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been deeply unpopular. Even when these two men do the right thing — as in Iran — their decisions are regarded with suspicion and cynicism. That may not be fair, but nobody ever said politics is fair.

Even before Israel and America effectively declared war on Iran, Americans were opposed. A CBS poll found a majority, 53%, were against taking military action against Iran — even to prevent the regime from obtaining nuclear weapons. Now, more — almost 60% — oppose the conflict, CNN found. As casualties and costs mount, the polls will almost certainly get worse.

Trump has said his goal is regime change. But regime change has never been possible from one mile up, using a fighter jet. Military analysts say regime change needs boots on the ground long term. Trump has sworn that won’t happen. So the war will continue.

Trump, however, promised to never do precisely what he has done here — wage war on Iran. In November 2024, he told his supporters: “I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars.” For years, Trump has effectively campaigned as a pro-peace politician — saying the Iraq war, for example, was a “big, fat mistake.” For his base, Trump’s newfound hawkishness represents a massive flip-flop: It simply isn’t what he promised and American voters know it.

Make America Great Again is one of the most successful movements in modern political history. MAGA took a controversial reality show host with no political experience and made him president twice. MAGA’s core principle has always been “America first” — and no more foreign wars. MAGA icons are accordingly very unhappy — like Marjorie Taylor Greene, who this weekend tweeted: “This is NOT freeing the Iranian people!!! This is murdering their children!!! WTF are you insane people doing??? AMERICA DOES NOT SUPPORT THIS!!!”

Trump was honest, for once, about the likelihood of American casualties in the Iranian conflict. Already, there have been four deaths. Four American military personnel were also killed in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012 — and those deaths have haunted the political career of Hillary Clinton, then secretary of state, ever since. Trump could experience the same fate.

7. Where’s the Iranians?

At the end of 2025, the Iranian currency, the rial, plunged in value, setting off weeks of massive and bloody demonstrations. Trump clearly had been counting on another popular uprising to follow his military action — but that simply hasn’t happened yet. So far, Iranians haven’t seemed eager to take to the streets and take back their country.

Since 1979, the fanatics who kept the ayatollahs in power have been the feared Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The IRGC has been designated a terror group by Canada and with good reason. There are an estimated 200,000 trained, well-armed IRGC members and they have presided over decades of murder, torture, abductions and rapes — against their own people. Until the IRGC is defeated, this war will not be won.

As my colleague Brian Lilley opined on my recent Kinsellacast podcast, the U.S. midterm elections are coming — and, if this war is still on, Trump could lose very badly. His Republican Party was already in trouble — but a quagmire in the Middle East will make a bad political situation even worse. For him.

10. The truth about war.

Here is the truth: Wars are very easy to start, but not so easy to end. On this, Trump could consult with his friend Vladimir Putin. History will record that Ukraine was supposed to be defeated by Russia in a single weekend. More than four years later, the Russia-Ukraine war still grinds on.

Because wars, once started, often keep going.

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