Sir Edmund Burke, in a speech to the Electors of Bristol in 1774, said: “Your representative owes you not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.”
That may not sit well in an age of polling and clamor for direct democracy, but the reality is this: the duty of statesmen is not to follow public opinion, but to lead it. In moments of crisis, leaders are not called to read the polls — they are called to rise above them.
And that is exactly what President Donald Trump has done to this point in the war with Iran. When asked about public polling — where most surveys show a majority opposing the war — Trump responded, “I don’t care about polling.”
That statement gained my immediate attention, because in almost every conversation or meeting I have had with the president, he often references the polls — favorable polls.
I note this not as criticism, but to commend the president for stepping into the role of a statesman who leads in the direction the nation needs to go, regardless of the political consequences.
The stock market — very familiar territory for the president — has gone a bit wobbly. Gas prices have risen quickly, though they remain below the peak Americans experienced in the summer of 2022, when the average gallon approached $5. Some congressional Republicans are also expressing concern about the possible impact on the midterm elections.
These are big issues — in the short term. That is why most administrations confronting the Iranian nuclear threat sought to contain it, if they could not avoid it altogether.
To use a familiar phrase from American politics over the last 60 or 70 years, they simply kicked the can down the road so the next administration — or the next generation — would deal with it.
Donald Trump concluded there was no road left.
Open sources suggest Iran possessed roughly 1,000 pounds of uranium enriched to 60% before the launch of Operation Epic Fury. Iran was racing to reach the 90% weapons-grade level — enough material for roughly 10 nuclear warheads. Enough to hold the world hostage, if not destroy large parts of it.
If there has been a justifiable war since World War II, this may be it. This is not defending oil-rich countries made wealthy by American dependence. This is confronting a direct threat to our security and to that of our natural ally, Israel.
When the leadership of a rogue regime repeatedly calls America the “Great Satan,” vows to destroy us, and sponsors repeated terrorist attacks against Americans — at what point should we believe them?
As president, Donald Trump had the constitutional authority to act. Based on the available facts, the war is justified, and the stated purpose is right: peace in the Middle East and justice for the Iranian people.
President Trump should be commended for taking the regime at its word and responding — not because it was politically popular, but because it was justified, militarily and morally.
And in doing so, he illustrated the very principle Burke described 250 years ago: a leader who governs not by the polls, but by judgment.
Tony Perkins is the president of the Family Research Council and executive editor of The Washington Stand. He also served two terms as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, and served as Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Editor’s Note: An Irrational And Demonic Mindset
As President Donald Trump announced “Operation Epic Fury,” a historic joint military operation with Israel conducting precision strikes across Iran, one phrase stood out for its exceptional clarity. The President pinpointed a spiritual reason why such a large-scale military operation was absolutely necessary.
“We sought repeatedly to make a deal,” Trump stressed, adding that diplomatic efforts proved fruitless because the Iranian regime “just wanted to practice evil.”
The President should be commended for recognizing this reality. There are some ideologies so deluded and entangled with “practicing evil” that their actions can no longer be swayed by reason. The regime in Tehran was a perfect example of this irrational—and demonic—mindset.
Repeated and embarrassing military failures, economic turmoil, mass protests, and the collapse of its terror proxy network should have caused the regime to reverse course—or at least lie low for a season. But these were not rational counterparts at the other end of the negotiating table.
The regime doubled down, laser-focused on funding terrorism, rebuilding their arsenal, and pursuing nuclear weapons to carry out their ambition of destroying Israel and the United States.
As noted by Erick Stakelbeck, host of the Watchman Newscast, “Despite the heavy blows over the past two years, none of these anti-semitic and demonically driven bad actors repented. Since the 12 Day War, Iran has become even more arrogant and boastful, levying constant threats against Israel and America.”
Echoing the words of the President, Stakelbeck underscored that “evil is relentless until it is utterly crushed.”
But how do we know that the Iranian regime and its Supreme Leader were satanically motivated? Through God’s Word, we know that the Devil is the “father of lies” and a “murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44). Demonically driven individuals are often consumed with delusion, working against their own best interests (Mark 5:5, 9:22). Scripture also teaches that Satan has a relentless hatred for the Jews and Bible-believing Christians (Revelation 12, Genesis 3:15, Ephesians 6, etc.). All of these characteristics were unmistakably ingrained in the Ayatollah regime.
