Trump short on foreign policy wins
Heads into midterms as Iran, more unresolved
By: Hmeyra Pamuk
Andrea Shalai
and Steve Hollen
WASHINGTON - With the Iran war now at a costly standoff and crises from Ukraine to Gaza still unresolved, President Donald Trump's ambitious foreign policy agenda appears stuck as he heads into November's [2026] midterm elections.
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The setbacks are striking for a president who returned to office last year [2025] promising to be a "peacemaker" and made resolving international conflicts a centerpiece of his second-term agenda.
..... Trump has grown impatient with reporters' questions and even U.S. allies. Last week, [08/20/2026] he lashed out at reporters pressing him on foreign policy issues and renewed his threat to bomb Oman, a U.S. ally negotiating with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
..... Labor Day, on September 7, this year, [2026] is traditionally when election campaigns kick into high gear, and Republicans face the prospect that unresolved conflicts aboard and their economic fallout at home could cost the party its hold on Congress.
..... Trump has called off talks with Tehran after pushing for weeks for a diplomatic solution and announced on August 19 [2026] a new campaign of "economic warfare" against the Islamic Republic in an apparent acknowledgment that months of military attacks have not forced the concessions the United States wants to see.
..... As inflation persists and the Iran was drives up gasoline prices, Trump's approval rating has fallen to another low point with just 23% of Americans in the lasted Reuters/Ipsos poll approving of his performance.
..... Other efforts to broker peace have son-in-law Jared Kushner left empty-handed from talks to advance a Gaza peace deal, And an expected visit to Kyiv by Kushner and Trump envoy Steve Witkoff to revive long-stalled negotiations to end Russia's war in Ukraine has yet to happen.
..... After a string of early foreign policy achievements, including a Gaza ceasefire and the capture of Venezuela's leader, Trump's record has become increasingly defined by his stalled diplomatic efforts.
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"Trump has successfully challenged and disrupted the comfortable foreign policy consensus in Washington, but has not translated that disruption into a strategy with deliverable for Americans," said Aski Aydintasbas, a fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington.
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The conflict with Iran has weighed "intensely" on the president and there is no consensus inside the White House on how to resolve it, one Trump ally said on condition of anonymity.
..... The pressure could increase if investors conclude the war will drags on, driving up U.S. borrowing costs and furth4er constraining Trump's domestic agenda. Trump has said the economic costs are worth it in order to ensure Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon despite Iran's denials it seeks one.
.... "President Trump has successfully made America respected again, and the results speak for themselves - nine wars have ended, hostages have been freed from Gaza, trade deals are fairer, and now, Iran will be prevented from ever possessing a nuclear weapon," said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly.
..... A senior Trump administration official said U.S. sanctions and a naval blockade had crippled Iran's economy and left it "completely broke," adding: ""There are many levers the president can crank harder in the weeks ahead."
..... Some experts give Trump credit for a willingness to grapple with issues they believe other presidents have been unable or unwilling to solve.
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"The president wants a more stable world and that means attempting to resolve disputes whether hot like Ukraine or cold like trade and overcapacity," said Nick Snyder, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, adding that Trump also worked to settle conflicts between Rwanda and Congo, and Thailand and Cambodia.
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Trump has upended traditional diplomatic norms of peacemaking, relying on leveraging America's economic and military might, including with U.S. allies, but that unorthodox style has yielded mixed results.
..... He brought parties to the table with the aim of ending Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but the longest war in Europe since World War II is nowhere near ending, with the latest Russian air strikes in the Ukrainian capital killing 16people on August 20. [2026]
..... In Gaza, mediators fear that intensifying Israeli strikes on the enclave undermine efforts to end the conflict as both Israel and Hamas balk at conditions needed to advance a peace plan Trump forged in October last year. [2025] In Lebanon, Israeli air strikes killed 11 people on August 16 [2026] even as a U. S.-mediated peace framework between th4e two countries remains in effect.
..... One notable success came in Venezuela, where the U.S. military captured President Nicolas Maduro without U.S. casualties. analysts say the operations helped convince Trump that joining Israel in attacking Iran would also proceed smoothly.
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But they also say that proved a miscalculation. They argue Trump has relied too heavily on applying coercive pressure even through Iran's leaders have little incentive to back down and reopen the Strati of Hormuz despite the country's weakening economy.
..... "Her is obsessed with applying coercion, and sometimes flattery, to bend others to his will, but oblivious to their strategic goals and domestic politics. As a result, he keeps flailing and failing," said Stephen Wertheim, a senor fellow at the Carnegie endowment for International Peace.
..... Meanwhile, the political clock is ticking, with Trump's Republic Party facing elections that could cost it control of one or both chambers of Congress and sharply curtail his ability to advance his agenda during his final two years in office.
..... Analysts say Trump's reliance on coercive pressure can bring adversaries to the table but often fails to produce lasting settlements, a dynamic that may encourage rivals to wait him out.