President Donald Trump's decision to launch the war with Iran follows a "set of norms" that has developed throughout American history, says Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential historian Jon Meacham.
"What President Trump's doing in Iran, interestingly, is drawing on a set of norms that aren't quite explicitly spelled out, but have developed as part of our custom that presidents can exert force in this way," he told PBS News' Amna Nawaz.
He said the nation’s founders were “intimately familiar with the history of what was the Old World,” which had been shaped by autocracies and wars.
“The point of, in many ways, the late 18th century of that political revolution that the American experiment really embodies was, let's take the affairs of nations away from the whims of a single person, and let's at least try to entrust them to the clash of interests of the many,” Meacham explained.
Since that time, he said, the power of the executive branch has "steadily” grown throughout U.S. history.
"The only thing that's really important in determining the broad direction of the United States of America at this hour is what goes on in Donald Trump's head," Meacham said.
Meacham, a bestselling author, spoke to @IAmAmnaNawaz for PBS News' podcast, "Settle In." He discussed former President Joe Biden's legacy, the one piece of historical text he thinks we all should read and how he still finds hope as America marks its 250th birthday.
Listen to the full episode here: www.pbs.org/newshour/podcasts/settle-in-wi...