Stress-testing Trump’s claims that the world was calmer on his watch
WASHINGTON—Donald Trump claims that neither the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel nor Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine would have happened on his watch, and that the world was an oasis of calm and stability when he was president. The reality was more complicated.
The presumptive Republican nominee told supporters at a rally in Pennsylvania earlier this month that attacks similar to the one recently launched by Iran against Israel were the product of failures by President Biden—an accusation the presumed GOP presidential nominee has frequently lobbed against him. “It would not have happened if I were in office," Trump said in Schnecksville, Pa. “Today we are considered a joke.
It’s not going to be for long, believe me." During Trump’s four years in the White House, there was no conflict on par with the Israel-Hamas war or Russia’s war in Ukraine. But Iran, or Iran-backed proxies, did launch attacks on U.S. personnel in the Middle East and against countries across the region while Trump was president, and he was usually hesitant to respond, wary of further attacks.
Russia also took aggressive actions against the U.S. and its allies around the world, and the U.S. and North Korea came close to the brink of conflict while Trump was in office.
Some contend that Trump-era policies regarding Afghanistan, Russia and the Middle East paved the way for some of President Biden’s overseas challenges. Throughout his presidency, Trump often appeared more risk-averse than his public bluster might have suggested. He carried out a series of limited strikes in the Middle East, including strikes against Iranian proxies and targets in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.
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