US Presidents' Pre-Midterm Military Strikes: Clinton, Obama, and Trump

President Donald Trump ordered limited military strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island hours before the November 3 midterm elections, despite his earlier statement that Washington would not resume such action before the polls. The strikes, described as defensive against Iranian surface-to-air missile threats to US assets, occurred in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump's action follows a pattern of presidents ordering military operations during midterm election years, including Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Clinton struck Afghanistan and Sudan in August 1998, about 75 days before midterms, targeting bin Laden-linked sites after embassy bombings. Obama expanded airstrikes against ISIS in Syria in September 2014, six weeks before elections. George W. Bush's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq became major midterm issues in 2002 and 2006.