America has been building towards the permanent emergency Presidency for decades now. Donald Trump and his political movement call themselves “like something nobody’s ever seen before,” but in many ways he behaves entirely routinely, differing only in how verbosely and loudly he claims to be novel. It is true that some aspects of his persona, backstory, and rise to power are unique in American history, and some things he does are truly 1-of-a-kind. But, it is also true that a person like Donald Trump (of which there are many) was bound for the Presidency eventually.
Keep in mind, that Donald Trump becoming President is in itself, one of the most novel things about him. Though we think of Presidents throughout history as having some kind of sameness to them, they are all individual people with complex lives and beliefs that often change over time.
We Have Been Inheriting Emergencies For Generations
In 1979, President Jimmy Carter signed an emergency declaration in response to the Iranian hostage crisis. Carter initiated it as a rapid, extraordinary measure—an immediate response to a foreign government that seized American diplomats and threatened their lives. But Carter’s declaration never ended. That might seem like a minor bureaucratic oversight to some. However, it is not just a small or insignificant detail. It also has not persisted aimlessly. Every president after him has re-signed and extended it. Like a quick-fix software patch that becomes part of the main codebase, the emergency powers designed to be temporary – have remained in place.
What was once an extraordinary measure – has transformed into ordinary governance.
Today, the American presidency is defined by its ability to rule by emergency – without the deliberation or oversight the Constitution intended.
Logical & Inevitable Outcomes of Emergency State Rule
Many people view Donald Trump as uniquely dangerous. As in, they treat him like he is more dangerous than any President or leader before him. He is dangerous, and perhaps in a way like nobody (currently alive) has ever seen (and retained working adult memory of) before. But he is not entirely unique in any aspect of his authoritarian practices even as an American President.
He is the logical and inevitable outcome of a system that has been designed for abuse.
The 2 Weeks War (aka The 12 Day War) Was Avoidable
When Trump decided to escalate tensions with Iran, striking at its nuclear facilities, many observers accused him of overstepping Congressional authority. But in a legal sense, he didn’t need new authorization – because he relied on the standing 1979 emergency. The fact that no members of Congress made mention of this is telling.
You may find this hard to believe, but I would be willing to bet none of them would have previously shared this interpretation. Most of them would not share this interpretation because they would be ignorant or unaware of the implications.
Others would know what I’m saying is the truth, but not share this opinion out loud in public, because it is essentially an open-ended secret now.
Trump may have used these powers more brazenly and openly than past Presidents.
It is also clear that unlike any President in the past, Trump is accepting bribery as commonplace.
Donald Trump Is the End of An Era, Not the Beginning
His personal negotiations with Iran broke down, and he retaliated at them by dropping all these bombs on them. In public, he used the sceptre of Iran to stoke fear among boomers, and had the war machine ready to show off their newest weaponry.
Yes, Donald Trump is so corrupt, he is doing these things. He has also been part of carving out and hollowing the democratic checks and balances to the best of his ability.
Just as with the 1979 emergency declaration, though, a Democrat will one day inherit that. Another Republican will too. Though it might be hard to imagine, a future President with even less humanity than Donald Trump – will be elected. That means we need to correct this system no matter what you think of him, or the Democrats.
This isn’t just about Iran. It’s about the entire presidency. It’s about how our government has normalized emergency powers that breach democratic integrity.
Living Under Constant Emergency Is Terroristic
A huge swath of the U.S. population is over the age of 65 and most of them remember 1979 vividly. They were adults when the Iranian revolution overthrew the Shah – an American-backed dictator – and took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.
For them, Iran is permanently coded as an enemy.
That is partially why it is harder for millennials and Gen Z to understand why there is such vitriol for the Iranian people.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Americans saw Iran sponsoring terror attacks, fighting the U.S. indirectly, shouting “Death to America” in street protests.
That fear didn’t go away. It metastasized as the emergency declaration remained in place. And politicians learned to use that fear for fundraising and winning elections.
This emergency declaration is a legal carcass with a twitching muscular system.
Trump’s supporters were easy to rally to the idea of “obliterating” Iran’s nuclear ambitions, even though such claims were false or wildly overstated. And even critics of Trump struggled to explain why his strikes on Iran were wrong – because they implicitly accepted the underlying logic of the permanent emergency.
The American Energy Industry Wants War With Iran Because They Are Unwilling To Compete Fairly
America’s oil and gas industry – and increasingly, its nuclear sector – see Iran not just as an enemy but as a competitor. Iran has one of the world’s largest proven oil reserves. If they were allowed to simply operate normally, without constant violent threats, they would become an indomitable producer and exporter of energy. This would be very difficult for American companies to deal with, though it might actually produce cheaper prices for domestic consumers because it would open up more supply.
Sanctions, military threats, and sabotage of Iranian nuclear infrastructure all serve to keep Iran from competing on equal terms with domestic American companies, as well as foreign allies like Israel which has a burgeoning energy sector.
American administrations don’t state this kind of thing openly. Instead, they use moral language about Iran’s human rights record or its nuclear ambitions as justifications to bomb them, assassinate their leadership, and kill innocent civilians along the way.
The real strategic benefit is to maintain market dominance for American energy producers. This doesn’t mean there’s a grand conspiracy in a smoky room. It’s worse than that. It’s institutionalized now. Built in. Accepted as normal. This is how systemic oppression continues. It is perpetuated due to people of low moral fiber being unwilling to seed these mechanisms of control. But it’s easy to remain ignorant too.
When you combine terror and economic self-interest, you get a foreign policy built for perpetual confrontation – and permanent emergency.
We “Cannot” Keep Repeating This Inherited Narrative
Trump didn’t invent the narrative that Iran “cannot” have a nuclear weapon. He inherited it from his old friend, Bill Clinton who evolved it from his predecessors. The idea that Iran must be permanently denied the capability – not just the weapon itself, but the knowledge or industrial infrastructure to make one – has became a bipartisan consensus.
This “zero enrichment” policy goal is deliberately unattainable for Iran, ensuring permanent sanctions and the permanent threat of war.
When Trump claimed he had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program – or even its will to make a weapon – it was simply an extreme version of the same logic.
Keep in mind, though, this was all made possible by the 1979 emergency declaration still being active.
The Machinery of the Permanent Emergency
What started as an exceptional response to a specific crisis became institutionalized power. Congress handed the president broad authorities to manage emergencies. Over time, they stopped taking them back. Emergency declarations that should expire continue in force. Sanctions regimes become self-justifying. Military authorizations morph into blank checks. Presidents learn they don’t need Congressional approval to act. And Congress is happy to let them.
They can posture and critique without having to vote on war themselves, while reaping the benefits from the military industrial complex in the form of campaign contributions.
A Remedy for the Permanent Emergency
If we want to end this, we need to do more than have public officials or broadcasters rhetorically condemn Trump’s specific actions.
We need to dismantle the machine.
That means:
- Remove Personal Conflicts of Interest
- Prevent private actors – like Trump, Steve Witkoff, or anyone in his business orbit – from shaping Iran policy for personal gain.
- Prevent private actors – like Trump, Steve Witkoff, or anyone in his business orbit – from shaping Iran policy for personal gain.
- Undeclare the 1979 Emergency
- Formally end the emergency declaration that has underpinned 46 years of failed, antagonistic policy.
- Formally end the emergency declaration that has underpinned 46 years of failed, antagonistic policy.
- Initiate Honest Diplomacy
- Approach Iran openly to learn their terms for reopening negotiations.
- Approach Iran openly to learn their terms for reopening negotiations.
- Transparency with American Stakeholders
- Acknowledge the interests of U.S. oil, gas, and nuclear industries honestly. Present them transparently in negotiations instead of using moral pretexts.
- Acknowledge the interests of U.S. oil, gas, and nuclear industries honestly. Present them transparently in negotiations instead of using moral pretexts.
- Admit Past Discrimination
- Acknowledge that U.S. policy toward Iran has been unfairly punitive and discriminatory. Commit to equitable, non-coercive foreign relations.
- Acknowledge that U.S. policy toward Iran has been unfairly punitive and discriminatory. Commit to equitable, non-coercive foreign relations.
- Restore Constitutional Balance
- Use this case as a model for ending other open-ended emergencies. Reassert Congressional authority over declarations of war, sanctions regimes, and tariff policy.
- Use this case as a model for ending other open-ended emergencies. Reassert Congressional authority over declarations of war, sanctions regimes, and tariff policy.
Life Is Not An Emergency State
While Presidents all appear poised when they are in front of the cameras, and steady in their speech, the number of emergencies they think there are at any one time would make them seem like panicky maniacs. What kind of person operates with dozens of emergencies at once? It could be debated what constitutes an emergency, but a formally declared one, certainly sounds like one.
Emergencies are supposed to be rare. Urgent. Temporary.
When Congress and a President make them permanent, they make fear permanent.
They make those connected wars permanent. They make executive power unaccountable. A real foreign policy – one worthy of a democracy – deals in ordinary terms, not perpetual crisis. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Carter, Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden, or Trump. As long as we leave the emergency machinery intact, every nation moving forward will inherit it. And every president will be tempted to use it.
