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This study contributes to the understanding of American administrations’ public justifications of military action in the post-Cold War period, more specifically by addressing the research gap concerning more recent conflicts during the Trump administration.

This study analyses public justification of military actions during the Trump administration. The study examines two cases: the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the 2026 war in Iran. The public justification is examined in both cases through the theoretical lenses of liberalism and realism, two major schools of thought in international relations. Sources used in the study consist of official administration sources, as well as selected reports from established news organisations covering both cases, and public statements from the Trump administration.

The study employs a method of deductive qualitative content analysis. 

The study finds that liberalism has been consistent early in the initial public justifications of the two cases, while realism gets a stronger emphasis after the military operations have started. However, the study also finds that both theories coexisted in varying degrees throughout the studied cases