President Donald Trump departs after speaking about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. Alex Brandon/Pool via REUTERS
President Donald Trump's botched handling of the Iran war has done "irreparable damage" to his standing among voters, one veteran defense expert wrote for The i Paper, and the full extent will become clear after the midterms.
Robert Fox is a long-time journalist and war correspondent with a career dating back to the late 1960s, with experience covering conflicts in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, the Falklands and many more. On Monday, he published a new column for The i Paper breaking down why Trump's "credibility is in tatters" as his war with Iran has left the U.S. military near its "breaking point."
"The war, which was intended to last six weeks at most, has now run for more than six months. To say there is no credible peace settlement in sight might qualify as the understatement of the year," Fox wrote, citing the recent U.S. strikes on Iran's Larak Island as a sign that the conflict has fully ramped up after beleaguered peace talks.
He added later: "The latest exchange of fire means that there is little chance of meaningful peace talks before the U.S. midterm elections in early November, and Israel’s general election on 27 October. It means rising prices on the international energy markets and at the petrol pumps for U.S. voters."
Fox detailed further why Trump is facing a "serious military credibility gap" due to his administration's handling of the conflict, starting with the most notable recent example: the depletion of the military's munitions stockpile, something he attributed partly to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's embrace of "video wargame culture." The war has also tested the resolve of the military's personnel as well, with officers on the USS Abraham Lincoln in particular suffering under drastic conditions due to the length of their deployment. Hegseth has not helped matters with his "constant purges of the officer corps of the services," and his habit of "promoting those loyal to the MAGA cause" above all else.
The war has also left Trump to contend with a less pliable enemy than before.
"In Iran, Trump faces an adversary more like him than he realizes," Fox explained. Neither likes to play by the rules. On the day Trump resumed attacking Iran, the new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, called for 'all Muslims to unite against their common enemy,' adding: 'and you all know who that is.' In six months of war with Iran, Trump has stretched US military capability and credibility as never before this century. He faces a more ruthless foe in Tehran than he did before he invaded on 28 February."
He concluded later: "Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, perversely, is likely to play further confrontation with the ayatollahs to his advantage at the [election debates]. But for Trump, the mess he has created in Iran has caused him irreparable damage – he will see just how much at November’s elections."