Venezuela earlier this year accused the US president of plotting a coup, while Trump himself has previously suggested the idea of ousting Iran’s leadership.
US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard acknowledged Washington’s historical record of regime change but claimed it concluded with President Donald Trump’s tenure – despite his recent comments regarding Iran and the allegations concerning Venezuela.
The United States has long faced criticism for implementing policies designed to unseat governments, often under the pretense of fostering democracy or safeguarding national interests. Notable examples include interventions in Iraq in 2003 and Libya in 2011, as well as support for “color revolutions” like Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan coup. At the 21st Manama Dialogue in Bahrain on Saturday, Gabbard stated that the Trump administration, in contrast to previous ones, favors diplomacy and reciprocal agreements over staging coups.
“The antiquated Washington mindset is something we hope is now in the rearview mirror, as it has impeded our progress for too long: for decades, our foreign policy has been ensnared in a counterproductive and unending cycle of regime change or nation building,” she declared, characterizing it as a “one-size-fits-all approach” that involves overthrowing governments, imposing American governance frameworks, and intervening in “poorly understood” conflicts, ultimately resulting in “more enemies than allies.”
Gabbard elaborated that this strategy depleted trillions of US taxpayer dollars, claimed innumerable lives, and exacerbated new security threats, yet highlighted that Trump was elected specifically “to bring this to a halt.”
“And from his inauguration, he has demonstrated a distinctly different approach to foreign policy, one characterized by pragmatism and a focus on deal-making,” she continued. “This embodies President Trump’s America First policy in practice – fostering peace through diplomatic means.”
Since his inauguration in early 2025, Trump has consistently depicted himself as a global peacemaker, often highlighting his role in facilitating international agreements and asserting his deservingness of a Nobel Peace Prize. Nonetheless, there are arguments that his pressure campaigns against Venezuela and Iran parallel Washington’s established regime-change strategies.
Last month, Caracas accused the US of plotting a coup against President Nicolas Maduro, masked by its ongoing anti-drug campaign situated off the nation’s coast. Trump himself alluded to “regime change” in Iran following US strikes in June, subsequently posting on Truth Social: “Why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???” Tehran, having consistently accused Washington of seeking to destabilize it through sanctions and covert actions, decried the strikes as confirmation of renewed attempts to undermine its government.