“Biggest threat in the world today – Donald Trump and the USA.”
That was the chant of protesters at New York’s famous Columbus Circle, under the shadow of Trump International Hotel.
Despite the temperature hovering just below zero degrees Celsius, a diverse range of people showed up to these hastily-organised anti-war rallies throughout the country.
Some were protest veterans – frequent attendees of protests opposing Israel’s attacks in the Gaza Strip. Others were younger, who have read about past American intervention in the Middle East with horror.
“We’ve seen this before and it’s happening again. We just don’t learn from history...we’re not going to stand for it, just like we protested against the Iraq war, all those other wars. This s*** ain't right,” one young protester told me, wearing a Covid-era mask to protect his identity.
Trump and Netanyahu vow to carry on until the Teheran “threat” has been eliminated. (Source: 1News)
Standing at the back of the group, and with half a dozen police watching closely, an older man shouted insults at the protesters.
“They know nothing,” he told me, before another man joined in on the shouting.
“Israel! Israel! Israel!” the pair chanted, trying to compete with loudspeakers set up by the rally organisers.
This escalating war in the Middle East has thrown up a complex range of emotions among Americans.
In my discussions with citizens across the political spectrum, no one has been mourning the loss of Iran's (now former) Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“We stand wholeheartedly opposed to the war against the Iranian people, but also the theocratic rulers of Iran is nothing to support,” said protestor Travis Moralas. “People of Iran need real liberation – real revolution.”
The division is how Trump has gone about creating that liberation.
While many feel that this conflict was inevitable, it also contrasts with what Trump told supports on the campaign trail.
“I’m not going to start wars, I’m going to stop wars,” he said as part of his victory speech on election night in 2024.
While the White House has attempted to reframe that through a mantra of “peace through strength”, it is a hard sell to many Americans – a poll rushed out by Reuters in the days following the strikes found only one-in-four Americans supported the war.
“One of his promises on the campaign - ‘no new wars’ - they called him the ‘no war president’,” said the protester wearing the face mask.
“Would you look at that - he’s started a war. There's lies upon lies upon lies – they're straight up lies all over the place, and his supporters ate those lies up. They don’t want to admit they are wrong and look where we are now.”
Moralas agreed.
"[Trump] talked about how they were going to attack Iran to liberate the Iranian people – this country has never liberated anybody except in the civil war that ended slavery. The country has a history of invading, dominating, and bombing.”
The big fear for many was the risk of this escalating, costing American lives and global stability.
“I’m a retired railroad worker and I’m against this new war against Iran,” another protester told me.
“It’s extremely dangerous – including the danger of nuclear war. Not from Iran, but from the United States, which is the only country in history to have dropped the atom bomb killing hundreds of thousands of people.
“This war has got to end now.”
“Trump has been talking about this war for quite a while,” added Moralas.
“We've been talking about the real danger of the US attacking Iran and that war spiraling out of control, engulfing the Middle Wast and potentially the entire world.”
Meanwhile, the chanting continued.
“Money for jobs and education – not for war and occupation.”
“Hand’s off Iran now!”
Trump seemed to have gambled the future of his presidency on this war – his biggest challenge now is convincing Americans it was the right move.
The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including Trump’s rationale for attacking Iran, and the return of a Kiwi film classic. (Source: Breakfast)
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