At the Conservative Political Action Conference’s USA 2026 conference last week, CPC Chair Matt Schlapp asked the crowd: “How many of you would like to see impeachment hearings?” When the crowd began to cheer, Schlapp responded with: “No. That was the wrong answer.” In their attempt to delegitimize the calls of some Democratic lawmakers for another President Trump impeachment, conservative organizers were forced to face an emerging rebellion.
People are frustrated by the conflict in Iran, with 61% of Americans disapproving of President Trump’s handling of the conflict. Gas prices are up to $3.98 a gallon nationally, compared to $2.98 a gallon a month ago. This increase indicates the adverse financial effects this conflict has for all Americans. More importantly, 13 members of our armed forces have died, and 200 have been injured in service. Yet, with messaging consistently changing, the question remains: What are we doing in Iran?
On Feb. 28, Trump called on the Iranian people to “take over” and topple the regime, a call that brought excitement to much of the Iranian diaspora. However, in January, as much as 5 million Iranians took to the streets throughout their country to protest the regime. The United States did not strike then. Instead, they waited until almost two months after tens of thousands of Iranians were killed by security forces. Although Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of Iran, was killed in initial strikes, Trump has since dulled down his calls for regime change and an internal uprising.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated Israel’s determination to attack forced the United States to strike. Trump refuted this, claiming Iran’s ballistic missiles “could soon reach the American homeland.” Our own intelligence has not backed up this claim. Trump called for “unconditional surrender,” and now we’re in “ongoing” and “productive” negotiations, according to Trump’s press secretary, although Iran denies any talks from occurring.
In the end, the Ayatollah is dead. So what? The Iranian regime is still firmly in place, victory can no longer be defined, our international reputation is diminished and Americans are hurting.
