# From cowboy to crusader: how Trump distorts American mythology in the conflict with Iran
**Date de l'événement :** 06/04/2026
* Publié le 06/04/2026

### Image
![shutterstock_2703774677_gncom_z0dwa.png](https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/memory-sp-pr.appspot.com/o/prod%2F1y7CgDOTakHDiB3dgoi0%2FprojectsMedias%2Fu7ibTC9bPh29MJrq8g9Y%2Fthumbs%2Fshutterstock_2703774677_gncom_z0dwa_1600x900.png?alt=media&token=be7d8033-87c3-4dcc-9bde-9ddfb042180a) 

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The United States’ Operation Epic Fury against Iran does more than mark a military escalation. It shows how Trump revives old national myths: the American frontier, the cowboy, regenerative violence, and Providence – while stripping them of their civic dimension and turning them into narratives of domination.  
  
That is what distinguishes him from earlier presidents: he does not draw on these myths to celebrate collective effort or democratic purpose, but to stage domination, purification, and personal omnipotence.  

### A conflict fuelled by myths  

Since the start of the war on Iran, Trump has sounded less like a President than a conqueror. He demands Tehran’s “unconditional surrender,” promises that “bombs will be dropping everywhere,” and evokes the selection of “great, acceptable leaders” for the postwar period.  
  
This language is more than the language of military necessity: it reactivates an old grammar of American power in a brutally hardened form.  
  
In Republics of Myth (2022), Hussein Banai, Malcolm Byrne and John Tirman argue that conflict with Iran is driven not only by strategic interests but also by two incompatible national narratives, each of which turns every new crisis into confirmation of older humiliations, fears, myths, and hostilities.  
  
→ [Cliquez ici pour lire cet article en français.](https://sources.sciencespo.fr/content/2026-03-19/du-cowboy-au-croise-comment-trump-devoie-les-vieux-mythes-americains-dans-la-guerre-contre-l-iran_Vy50mgvKTT5pitc4xpcy)  
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**Pour lire l'article complet, cliquez sur le lien ci-dessous :** [https://theconversation.com/from-cowboy-to-crusader-how-trump-distorts-american-mythology-in-the-conflict-with-iran-279230](https://theconversation.com/from-cowboy-to-crusader-how-trump-distorts-american-mythology-in-the-conflict-with-iran-279230)

## Auteur(s)
Jérôme Viala-Gaudefroy

### Date
06/04/2026

### Type(s) de ressource
`#Texte` 

### Discipline(s)
`#Science politique` 

### Thématique(s)
`#Guerre / conflits armés / paix` `#Discours / argumentation / théorie du langage / rhétorique` 

### Aire(s) géographique(s)
`#Amérique du Nord` 

### Langue(s)
`#Anglais` 

## Crédits photo
Stillgravity / Shutterstock

**Licence attribuée à l'article :** `#CC-BY-ND (Attribution, Pas de modification)` 

### Famille(s) de contenu
`#Recherche` 

### Type(s) d'accès
`#Accès libre` 

### Partenaire(s)
**[The Conversation](https://sources.sciencespo.fr/structure/the-conversation_QdYqgYnzKVyePLgMp3g8)** 


### Hébergeur(s)
`#The Conversation` 

## Autres crédits
**Subject of the photograph:** Interstate 10, Texas, United States – 2 November 2024: A saloon decorated with flags supporting Trump for the 2024 election. For editorial use only.

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