In this video, Prof. John Mearsheimer examines three wars for which he argues President Trump now bears political responsibility: in Ukraine, against Iran, and between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in Yemen. He explores how Trump became entangled in three military confrontations within a matter of months — with Washington seemingly lacking a clear way out.
Prof. Mearsheimer looks at the serious risks of escalation, the potential consequences for the global economy, and how these wars intersect with the growing rivalry between the major powers. He also considers what could remain even after the fighting ends — and why America’s deeper strategic problems may not disappear with it.
This video was produced by John Mearsheimer and published on his YouTube channel on the 21st of October 2026. We have translated it into German and are republishing it today to help build opinion on this issue in Germany and beyond.
To read the transcript of the interview: Prof. Mearsheimer – Trump Is Trapped in Three Losing Wars
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John J. Mearsheimer is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, where he has taught since 1982. He graduated from West Point in 1970 and then served five years as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. He then started graduate school in political science at Cornell University in 1975. He received his Ph.D. in 1980. He spent the 1979-1980 academic year as a research fellow at the Brookings Institution, and was a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University’s Center for International Affairs from 1980 to 1982. During the 1998-1999 academic year, he was the Whitney H. Shepardson Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
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