Trump Is Impotent vs. Iran

President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the Nassau County Police Academy Center for Training and Intelligence in Garden City, New York, on August 14, 2026. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images) Turn any article into a podcast. Upgrade now to start listening. Members can share articles with friends & family to bypass the paywall. Donald Trump is promising economic warfare “on an unprecedented scale” against Iran, an “economic D-Day.” Trump makes these kinds of dumb, empty threats all the time—previous menacing pronouncements have run the gamut from war crimes to outright genocide—and the Iranians probably are right to shrug them off. Kevin D. Williamson is national correspondent at The Dispatch and is based in Virginia. Prior to joining the company in 2022, he spent 15 years as a writer and editor at National Review, worked as the theater critic at the New Criterion, and had a long career in local newspapers. He is also a writer in residence at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. When Kevin is not reporting on the world outside Washington for his Wanderland newsletter, you can find him at the rifle range or reading a book about literally almost anything other than politics. More From Kevin D. Williamson