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For American presidents, winning wars abroad often spells failure at home

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom

Published March 31, 2026 at 12:03 PM EDT

Despite the success of Operation Desert Storm in 1991, former President George H.W. Bush lost his bid for reelection that next year.

Princeton University historian Julian Zelizer argues that when voters sense the president is more focused abroad than at home, they punish him for it.

Here & Now’s Scott Tong speaks with Zelizer about President Trump’s war on Iran and why Republicans have a foreign policy problem.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Here & Now Newsroom