(ECNS) - Major U.S. news outlets are drawing sharp contrasts between President Donald Trump's past denunciations of military intervention and his current decision to launch strikes on Iran, highlighting what critics describe as a reversal of his earlier rhetoric.

American citizens protest in the streets against the U.S. and Israeli military actions against Iran.(Photo: AFP)

In a recent analysis, The New York Times cataloged Trump's earlier attacks on former President Barack Obama, including a 2012 statement in which Trump warned that Obama, facing falling poll numbers, might "launch a strike in Libya or Iran out of desperation".

The newspaper also cited a 2013 remark in which Trump claimed he had predicted Obama would attack Iran because of his "inability to negotiate properly."

During his 2016 campaign, Trump pledged to end what he called the "reckless and costly policy of regime change," a doctrine widely associated with the Iraq War under President George W. Bush. He positioned himself as a critic of prolonged overseas interventions and vowed to put "America first."

That message remained central to his 2024 campaign. According to CNN, Trump declared on election night, "I'm not going to start wars. I'm going to stop wars," while warning that a victory by Kamala Harris, who was running for the White House as a Democratic candidate at the time, would lead to "World War III." He repeatedly referred to himself as the "President of Peace."

Trump's recent military action against Iran, along with his remarks urging Iranians to "take over" their government, has prompted comparisons with the very regime-change policies he once condemned.

The New York Times reported that Trump has ordered nine military operations in his second term, marking a shift from his earlier anti-interventionist tone.

Other Western outlets have made similar observations. The Washington Post reported during the 2020 killing of Iranian renowned General Qassim Suleimani that Trump had previously accused Obama of potentially launching a war with Iran for political gain — only to later escalate tensions with Tehran himself.

Politico likewise contrasted Trump's campaign-era warnings against regime change with his administration's increasingly aggressive posture abroad.

Meanwhile, the BBC highlighted the contradiction between Trump's promises to end "endless wars" and actions that could broaden conflict in the Middle East.

(By Zhang Jiahao)