Why Trump's Iran Strikes Are Unconstitutional — with David French

What It Covers

NYT columnist and Iraq War veteran David French joins Scott Galloway to examine the constitutional violations in Trump's Iran strikes, the intellectual roots of just war doctrine in international law, the theological divide within American Christianity over Trump, and why cultivating virtue over ambition is the defining framework for young men seeking direction.

Key Questions Answered

• •Constitutional War Powers: The U.S. Constitution deliberately splits war authority — Congress declares war, the president wages it. Trump's Iran strikes violated this structure by bypassing congressional authorization entirely, with no UN Security Council resolution and no evidence of imminent attack. Historically, even Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and both Iraq wars had some form of congressional or UN authorization before military action commenced.
• •Democratic Staying Power in War: Democracies that secure public support before entering conflict demonstrate significantly greater resilience during adversity than those that bypass the process. Without congressional authorization, there is no mechanism to build public understanding or consent. The Iran conflict illustrates this directly — no constitutional process produced no public patience, making the war strategically fragile regardless of whether the military objective was sound.
• •Just War Doctrine as Legal Foundation: Catholic just war doctrine, developed over roughly 1,000 years and codified after both World Wars, forms a foundational pillar of the U.S. Department of Defense's law of war manual. When Pope Leo XIV challenges Trump's military actions, he speaks as the intellectual heir to the tradition that underpins the entire post-WWII international legal order — not as a peripheral religious figure.
• •Combat Discipline and Civilian Protection: French's unit, the 2nd Squadron 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, faced enemy contact approximately 80% of operational days in Eastern Diyala Province during the 2007–2008 surge, yet caused fewer than five civilian casualties across the entire deployment. This outcome resulted from strict rules of engagement enforcement, not luck — demonstrating that military effectiveness and legal compliance are not competing priorities.
• •Democratic Party's Tent Problem: White evangelicals voted 82% for Trump while Black Protestants voted 88–90% for Harris, revealing that American Christianity is politically diverse but the Democratic Party consistently alienates theologically conservative voters. French cites Texas Democrat James Tallarico's model — explicitly welcoming pro-life voices while disagreeing on abortion — as the structural shift required. Movements that hunt for heretics rather than seek converts systematically shrink their coalition.
• •Virtue Over Ambition Framework: Benjamin Franklin maintained a list of 13 virtues and graded his daily adherence to each. The founders broadly prioritized what David Brooks calls "eulogy virtues" — character traits described at death — over "resume virtues," which are career accomplishments. French argues young men should pursue virtue cultivation as a lifelong practice because character development remains within personal control in a way that status and wealth outcomes never are.