House Speaker Mike Johnson made the case that Donald Trump’s war on Iran was not about war at all but was actually all about promoting peace.
The Trump-backing speaker made the argument as the administration faced mounting criticism from some of the most prominent MAGA voices, who said the U.S. was launching the attack with mixed messages about the goals and no clear endgame.
“There’s a misconception that ‘Operation Epic Fury’ is in any way a diversion from Republican demands for peace. It’s the opposite,” Johnson said.
He argued: “Peace is not secured through appeasement, and it’s certainly not secured by airdropping billions of dollars on terrorist regimes, which is what previous Democrat administrations had done.”
His twisted case for Trump’s actions comes as only one in four Americans approve of the U.S. strikes on Iran, according to Reuters polling, while about half, including one in four Republicans, disapprove of the military operation in the Middle East.
On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared the U.S. had only “just begun to fight” but also insisted the U.S. was winning.
What remains unclear is how long the war will last, as the president has floated a series of different lengths while his top officials have avoided setting a timeline. The administration has also refused to rule out boots on the ground as it continues to carry out its military assault.
But the House speaker, rather than using the immense power of Congress to conduct further oversight or rein in the U.S. from carrying out another military campaign halfway around the globe, delivered a full-throated endorsement of Trump’s actions.
“Peace is secured through strength. That is the principle that our party has stood for my entire life, and on principle before that articulated the idea of peace through strength,” Johnson said. “That is what this administration is demonstrating, and that is why America is the last great superpower on the planet.”
The Louisiana lawmaker fiercely insisted: “And all freedom-loving people around the world are grateful to god for that.”
He also argued that Iran wanted to take the U.S. out amid contradictory messaging from the administration that Iran posed an actual imminent threat while also being an imminent threat for 47 years.
“They wanted to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, and they’d like to take us out as well. We’re the great satan in their analogy and their misguided religion, and there was no way to appease them,” Johnson insisted.
During his press conference on Wednesday, the Trump-following speaker claimed Congress would conduct oversight but immediately undermined the legislative branch’s constitutional authority by saying, “But we also have a duty and obligation not to undercut our own national security.”
Johnson said he believes Republicans have the votes in the House to block a War Powers Resolution against the war in Iran.
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