14. Trump Ended the War in Iraq
Another claim Trump made was that he ended the war in Iraq. While he has often boasted about reducing U.S. involvement in Iraq, the claim that he “ended” the war is misleading. The U.S. military officially withdrew from Iraq in 2011 under President Obama’s administration. However, the situation in Iraq remained unstable, and the rise of ISIS led to the re-deployment of U.S. troops in 2014. Trump’s administration did oversee the defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, but this was not the same as ending the war. The ongoing instability in the region, including tensions with Iran and continued military presence in the Middle East, contradicts the idea that the war was truly “ended” during Trump’s tenure.
While the U.S. did reduce its footprint in Iraq during Trump’s presidency, the larger conflict in the region remained unresolved. Trump’s oversimplified rhetoric about the end of wars fails to acknowledge the complex geopolitical dynamics at play and the reality of continued military operations in the Middle East.