As Iran’s rulers must decide whether to sign a final deal with the United States or face annihilation, we have reached a moment of truth—not only for the war with Iran, but also for understanding Donald Trump as president.
Not only has Trump emerged as the bravest president of our lifetimes, braving yet another assassination attempt last weekend, but he has also proven to be the most successful wartime president since World War II.
He destroyed the Iranian army – one of the largest in the Middle East – in less than 40 days.
He forced Iran to agree on April 16 to give up its enriched uranium and support for terrorist groups – although hardline elements in the regime reneged on the deal. Now he is using a naval blockade of Iranian ports to force Tehran to accept the final terms – or else.
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What sets Trump apart as a wartime leader is that he sees the presidency not with the eyes of a politician or a lawyer, like his predecessors, but as a founding businessman.
Trump sees wartime leadership, and the presidency itself, not through the eyes of a politician or a lawyer, but as a founding businessman. That is why he has been so decisive in his presidential actions compared to his predecessors.
The term founder refers to a special breed of entrepreneurs who have the drive and vision to create their own business and are willing to risk everything to achieve their goals. Founders create great companies like Ford, Apple and SpaceX, but they also pose a huge threat to those who want to muddle along with the status quo.
Historian Arthur Herman’s latest book is Founder’s Fire: From 1776 to the Age of Trump, which was published April 21, 2026. (Middenstraat)
Founder is an accurate description of Donald Trump, from his earliest days building a real estate empire in New York City and then becoming a casino magnate in Atlantic City, to his first and now second terms as president.
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A founding president wants to solve problems like illegal immigration or our 47-year war with Iran, not just talk about them, and dedicates all his drive and energy to making them happen.
That mentality is also what connects him to our original Founding Fathers. They brought that same drive and energy to realize their vision of American independence 250 years ago and risked everything in a war with what was the greatest empire on earth, Great Britain.
What makes a founder different from other people – especially typical politicians?
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First, the founders are mission-driven and willing to take bold action to address problems, as with Trump’s lightning strike on Iran’s nuclear program last June, and then his seizing the opportunity to decapitate the most evil regime of our time in the final days of February.
Founders prefer to work with a small, dedicated and loyal team, as Trump has done with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Dan Caine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his trusted team of negotiators – Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff and JD Vance.
Founders are risk tolerant, sometimes even notoriously so. Trump took a big chance that his military strikes on Iran would fail, and an even bigger chance when he deployed all military resources to rescue our two downed pilots – the most daring and miraculous air rescue in military history.
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Above all, the founders are driven by an optimistic vision of the future. In the case of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, it was a vision of American independence that would create a new era of liberty and freedom for the world.
In Trump’s case, it is a vision of a Middle East and a world forever free of the terrorist and nuclear threat of Iran, but also of Israel at peace with its neighbors. It’s a vision that started with the Abraham Accords during Trump’s first term and could now lead to an Israeli peace deal with Lebanon. It’s a vision he’s willing to risk his presidency for.
President Donald Trump has destroyed Iran’s military – one of the largest in the Middle East – in less than 40 days. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
At every turn, critics have lashed out at Trump out of spite and fear, as they always do when founders insist on taking the lead. For example, the Founding Fathers faced opponents at the Constitutional Congress who argued passionately against independence until the last minute—and who believed that we were starting a war with Britain that we could only lose.
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Another wartime leader with founding instincts, Abraham Lincoln, was attacked as “King Lincoln” for daring to mobilize the United States for all-out war with the Confederacy. His many Northern critics wanted him to lose his crucial re-election in 1864, rather than allowing him to press on to eventual victory and the abolition of slavery throughout America.
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. Lincoln was attacked as “King Lincoln” for daring to mobilize the United States for all-out war with the Confederacy. (Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images)
Likewise, founding businessmen like John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and James J. Hill, who turned America into the world’s largest economy, were attacked as greedy “robber barons,” just as Elon Musk and the other founders of the Magnificent 7 are today.
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Yet Trump, like them, has defied the critics and naysayers — even potential assassins — as he pushed this war with Iran toward a decisive conclusion and raised the possibility that the world could be freed forever from Iran’s nuclear and terrorist blackmail.
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger once said, “Ordinary leaders try to manage the immediate; great ones try to elevate their society according to their vision.’
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Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) has blinded critics to what is actually happening. Because the founding fathers’ mentality not only created the world’s freest country and built the world’s great economy, it is also able to bring victory and peace, thanks to a founding father warrior named Donald Trump.
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