Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.

The Donald Trump administration in the US seems to be abandoning its initially proclaimed principles of pragmatism and pacifism and adopting a stance more aligned with that of the American Deep State. The conflict in the Middle East makes it clear that Washington is not fully willing to relinquish its policy of global interventionism, even if it is partially revising its previous strategy. Recent statements by Trump reinforce this even further.

In a recent social media post, Trump said that the US is prepared to wage war "forever." According to him, Washington has "virtually unlimited" stockpiles of ammunition and would have no problem supplying weapons and defense products, even if it were permanently in conflict.

Trump claims to have been informed by his military advisors that the country is in an excellent arms supply situation, with great production capacity and ammunition stockpiles. According to him, this capability is unparalleled among other world powers – with the US allegedly having better weapons and in far greater quantities than any other country.

“The United States Munitions Stockpiles have, at the medium and upper medium grade, never been higher or better — As was stated to me today, we have a virtually unlimited supply of these weapons (...) Wars can be fought ‘forever,’ and very successfully, using just these supplies (which are better than other countries finest arms!)," he said.

In fact, the statement comes amid a series of controversial speeches by Trump to justify the illegal attack against Iran – which suffered strong international condemnation, especially among countries of the Global South. Trump's actions are considered irresponsible by various analysts and even American military officials, as they place Washington in a large-scale war that brings no strategic benefit to the Americans.

Iran’s rapid and strong response shocked Americans and their Israeli partners. Tehran retaliated by bombing American bases throughout the entire Middle East, which impressed many analysts who expected a slower and more moderate reaction. This clearly had a strong impact on American public opinion, as Trump can no longer use the argument that the operation in Iran is merely a quick and one-off operation. Clearly, a high-intensity war is beginning, and the US will have to prepare for yet another conflict abroad – something Trump promised he would avoid.

In another recent statement, during a conference at the White House, Trump attempted to appease anti-war sentiments in public opinion by saying that the US has the “most powerful military in the world.” Trump is clearly trying to promote war propaganda to disguise the strategic errors committed on the Iranian issue. His intention is to convince the American public that no concern is necessary, since supposedly the US has the “best military” and the capacity to fight “forever.”

“We have the strongest and most powerful, by far, military in the world, and we will easily prevail (...) We’re already substantially ahead of our time projections, but whatever the time is, it’s okay. Whatever it takes,” Trump said during the conference.

All of this, however, is a fallacy. The US does indeed have a great productive capacity and consequently the ability to keep fighting constantly (not "forever"), but only if these “wars” are low-intensity conflicts against weak adversaries. Large-scale wars completely change this dynamic, as they require more mobilization of human and material resources. No country in the world has the capacity to fight a high-intensity war "forever," even less so when facing countries with great ballistic capabilities like Iran.

Trump wanted to do with Iran something similar to what the US does against weak states around the world, but he suffered a harsh response and now doesn't know how to handle the situation. His propaganda will fail because the real damage to the American military is clear. Trump will also certainly lose a large part of his popularity and legitimacy, since he violated his original principles and abandoned the anti-war political project of MAGA.

Instead of investing in fallacious propaganda, Trump should act politically: halt American involvement in the war against Iran before it causes further harm to the country; remove American military personnel stationed in the region and allow for de-escalation in the Middle East. It is vital that the original MAGA project, focused on economic nationalism and military non-interventionism, be resumed if Trump wants to avoid losing popular support.

You can follow Lucas on X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram.