How Trump’s War on Iran Is Hastening the Coming MAGA Crack-Up

Trump’s promise of “no more wars” undoubtedly helped attract young people to him. JD Vance expressly framed this refrain as a message to the entire “younger generation,” promising to relieve themselves of the “burden” of elite warmongering madness. There is no doubt that many young people found this meaningful. However, today, Trump’s Iranian adventure resonates very badly with them.

It’s a complicated story. John Della Volpe, a pollster specializing in youth voting, says that for young people, Trump’s promise had an overlooked resonance. After the financial crisis and global Covid shock exacerbated economic precarity, lack of mobility and uncertainty about the future, Trump’s vow signified a deeper form of renewal at a time when young people’s trust in American institutions had been badly shaken.

Trump’s successes with young voters “rested largely on the promise that he would create more, not less, stability in their lives,” Della Volpe said. Many of them see Trump’s war in Iran in this context, he continued, interpreting it as “clear evidence that institutions cannot be trusted.”