Why Trump invoked regime change in attacking Iran, and the media must learn from past mistakes

President Donald Trump spearheaded American participation in the strike that killed Ayatollah Khamenei – but the media should be cautious about rallying around the flag too hard. Media Buzz Why Trump invoked regime change in attacking Iran, and the media must learn from past mistakes We've seen this before – look what happened with Saddam Hussein By Howard Kurtz Fox News Published March 2, 2026 3:00am EST Facebook Twitter Threads Flipboard Comments Print Email Add Fox News on Google close Video Iran's ayatollah, 40 top leaders killed in US operation Retired Navy SEAL Mike Sarraille joins 'Fox News Live' to weigh in on the shifting power vacuum in Iran amid a U.S.-Israeli operation that killed top leadership. NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Well, so much for all the weekend punditry that was to follow Donald Trump's State of the Union. And the expert analysis of the tariff confusion caused by the president's loss in the Supreme Court? That's on hold too. When Trump unleashed the bombing barrage against Iran, joined by Israeli forces, he did more than take a giant, risky step against the world's leading sponsor of terrorism. The attacks targeted Iran’s supreme leader, and succeeded in killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a remarkable military achievement. President Donald Trump uttered a crucial phrase behind his pinpoint targeting in Iran: regime change. (US President Trump Via Truth Social/Anadolu via Getty Images) Behind such pinpoint targeting, Trump uttered a crucial phrase: regime change. Those words have resonance because they echo George W. Bush’s rhetoric from two decades ago. Bush's announced goal was to topple Saddam Hussein – rather than stopping short, as his father had done – albeit on fictional claims of weapons of mass destruction. And that drive was aided by rally-round-the-flag, almost fawning media coverage. I feel strongly about this because while at the Washington Post, I did a lengthy report in which the paper’s leaders admitted they too eagerly joined the march to war and downplayed contrary evidence. "I think I was part of the groupthink," Bob Woodward told me. EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE SAYS US STRIKES MARK 'BEGINNING OF THE VERY END' FOR REGIME So Trump is no longer merely trying to stop Iran's nuclear program, which he claimed to have done nine months ago with that surprise attack on Tehran's underground nuclear sites. Now the president is saying he wants Iranians to topple the latest in a long line of theocratic authoritarians who rule that country with an iron fist – as if they could make that happen on their own. Not that I have the slightest sympathy for these awful ayatollahs. Trump called Khamenei "one of the most evil people in History." The latest round of strikes on Iran ended in the elimination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (Sobhan Farajvan/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)Many Trump supporters were drawn to his America First language, which they viewed as an end to faraway wars. Instead, they've gotten the kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro, whose Venezuela is about a third the size of Iran. And the threats, finally dropped, to take over Greenland. Plus, now the second shelling of Iran. No wonder some of his conservative allies are opposing these military strikes. They want federal money spent here, not in a volatile region driven by centuries of ethnic hatred. The Iranian retaliation – against Israel and U.S. bases in several nearby Arab countries – was both immediate and predictable. So now we find ourselves in a regional war. While the butchery of Khamenei sealed his fate, the targeted assassination of another head of state certainly fuels critics who see the U.S. acting as the Great Satan. At the same time, most neighboring countries, including Saudi Arabia, want nothing to do Iran or its proxies such as Hamas. OPERATION EPIC FURY: HOW AMERICA'S AIR POWER IS CRUSHING IRAN’S TERROR REGIME On the question of why the military escalation was launched now, some of Trump’s explanations seemed based on disputed or exaggerated evidence, given that Tehran is not close to completing a bomb. He may have decided the regime is too weak to survive the moment. But the Iranian hardliners who flatly refused to drop their nuclear ambitions left Trump little choice. This is the same gang of dictators that murdered thousands of protesters in the streets. Trump kept claiming the practice had stopped, but that wasn’t true, except for public hangings. It's all too reminiscent of the Beijing crackdown at Tiananmen Square in 1989. Let's go back even further. What civilized country would hold 52 diplomats hostage for more than a year, to pressure America to turn over an ailing Shah Reza Pahlavi? I guess the key word is civilized. The 444-day ordeal ended Jimmy Carter’s presidency, but also served notice that not even American embassies were safe. The Iranian Hostage Crisis spelled doom for the Carter administration. (Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) Chuck Schumer wants to push ahead with invoking the War Powers Act, since the Constitution gives that authority to Congress. It’s kinda late for that. Politically sp