BND - No new wars

🧩 BND Motif Index · M1785

No new wars

A leader elected on a promise to keep the country out of foreign wars starts one, and the promise is thrown back at him by the voters who believed it.

📜 Plots 🗂️ War motifs 🗂️ Betrayal and Loyalty

20claims filed under it
12left shows it came up on
5center shows it came up on
8right shows it came up on

⚠️ A story people tell, not a claim that it's true.

A motif is the shape of a story as its tellers tell it, named the way a folklorist names a tale type, so the same story told about other people, by the other side or in another year lands in the same place. Some of the claims below are true, many are false. Arguing against a story is often a story of its own, its answer (Voter fraud is answered by Voter suppression, Lawfare by No one is above the law), and we file it there; where no answer has a motif yet, the arguments against a story sit with its tellings.

what it rests on, what rests on it, and the motifs that answer it

🪜 rests on 🧩 They betrayed us 🧩 Politicians' empty promises

🔗 goes with: 🧩 Unpopular war

the shows we follow where its claims came up (12 left-leaning, 5 center, 8 right-leaning so far), colored by the show's lean; the bar is how many of its claims each one heard

left-leaning
center
right-leaning

➕ 13 more shows

"Came up on" means one of its claims was heard on the show: told, reported or argued against. We don't yet mark which. Show leans are our own grouping of the shows we transcribe.

the words that carry it

💬 the tellers' own words: “A fundamental, straightforward promise was no new Mideast wars. Period. Full stop... He broke that promise.” “Donald Trump spent 10 years telling everybody that it is dumb to squander our wealth and our talent abroad... And now we're in a war with Iran.” “It turns out when Trump said no new wars, he didn't fucking mean it.” “No new wars. How's that going?” “Trump lied to the American people, started a war once, started a war twice.”

what's been told in this shape, in our words, by who told it: newest first in each; a claim's dots are the shows it came up on, in their lean's color (point at them for their names)

Told on the left 8

claims heard on left-leaning shows, and no right-leaning one

2026-11-07 “Global economic storms and Donald Trump's war in the Middle East are making energy prices higher and life harder.” 3
2026-11-06 “Republicans lost the midterms because of the Iran war and the high gas prices it brought.” 1
2026-11-05 “Trump, who promised no new wars and brags of ending eight, is said to have started attacks on about eight countries and slaughtered children.” 1
2026-11-05 “Donald Trump's America First brand won on a promise of no new wars, a promise his own backers now say he broke.” 1
2026-11-04 “Trump has lost supporters because of broken promises regarding prices, foreign wars, and releasing Epstein material.” 2
2026-10-26 “Donald Trump started an unnecessary war by pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal.” 3
2026-10-17 “Trump is said to have lied when he promised no new wars, then started a war twice.” 1
2026-10-07 “Trump has betrayed his supporters in every imaginable way.” 2

Told on the right 2

claims heard on right-leaning shows, and no left-leaning one

2026-11-07 “Donald Trump is said to have betrayed Americans by launching a Middle East war without explanation or Congress's permission.” 1
2026-11-04 “The administration's decision to engage in war caused high gas prices, high diesel prices, and the deaths of service members.” 1

Told on both sides 6

claims heard on left- and right-leaning shows alike

2026-11-07 “Donald Trump broke a massive campaign promise by entering a war with Iran.” 4
2026-11-04 “Trump reneged on his promises to end forever wars, tackle affordability, and release Epstein files.” 4
2026-11-04 “The Republican Party failed to deliver lower prices and an end to foreign wars as promised to voters.” 3
2026-11-03 “Republicans have let down their voters by failing to deliver on promises to cut costs and drain the swamp.” 3
2026-10-29 “Donald Trump has failed to keep promises regarding the Ukraine war, lowering prices, and starting no new wars.” 5
2026-10-23 “Donald Trump betrayed his promise not to engage in new wars.” 4

Told in the center 2

claims heard only on center or crossover shows

2026-11-10 “Donald Trump is said to have broken his promises to end the Ukraine war on day one, start no new wars and lower prices.” 1
2026-11-02 “Trump promised to end forever wars and lower prices, but started a new war that directly caused painful price increases.” 1

Said by voters 2

claims voters made in The Focus Group

2026-08-15 “Voters feel Trump did not deliver on promises like deportations or no war”
2026-08-15 “Voters associate Middle East wars directly with Israel's actions”

M1785 · first seen 2026-11-09 · last 2026-11-10 · what this is · how the index works

No new wars

🪜 Its family

🎙️ Who it came up with

🎙️ 13 more shows

🗣️ In so many words

🧶 Its claims

Told on the left 8

Told on the right 2

Told on both sides 6

Told in the center 2

Said by voters 2

🪜 Its family

🎙️ Who it came up with

🎙️ 13 more shows

🗣️ In so many words

🧶 Its claims

🫏 Told on the left 8

🐘 Told on the right 2

⚖️ Told on both sides 6

🎙️ Told in the center 2

🗳️ Said by voters 2

Told on the left 8

Told on the right 2

Told on both sides 6

Told in the center 2

Said by voters 2