In a response to the Atlantic, President Trump’s framing of the issue of the Israel-Iranian war is pitch perfect.

Let me quote: “Well, considering that I’m the one that developed ‘America First,’ and considering that the term wasn’t used until I came along, I think I’m the one that decides that.”

He adds: “For those people who say they want peace — you can’t have peace if Iran has a nuclear weapon. So for all of those wonderful people who don’t want to do anything about Iran having a nuclear weapon — that’s not peace.”

Hopefully, our friends at MAGA isolationist podcasts and their ilk will think seriously about what the president is saying — and acknowledge his logic.

It sounds very much like Mr. Trump understands that Israel’s Operation Rising Lion is a gift to America, freedom, and civilized people everywhere — including the people of Iran

And, of course, Israel must fight for its own self-existence.

Freedom is a crucial thought here. And it is a universal principle that the Iranian mullahs know nothing about.

Successive American administrations have never publicly acknowledged it, but the fact is that Iran declared war on America many years ago.

And their nuclear bomb development, along with longer-range ballistic missiles, will have our East Coast in sight a lot sooner than many folks may think.

The key point, though, is that I at least believe that Mr. Trump is playing his cards exactly right.

Israel started the war, we didn’t. Yet America is helping them defensively against Iran’s fusillade of missiles aimed at Israel’s civilian areas, as it should. Israel is our ally.

Mr. Trump has not asked Israel to pause airstrikes into Iran.

He has said that “we’re on the same page with Netanyahu on Iran, we get along very well.”

When asked if America will continue to support Israel in its defense, Mr. Trump replied: “We do. Yeah.”

Also, he told ABC News that it’s possible that America would become involved in the Israel-Iran conflict.

Let me quote: “We’re not involved in it. It’s possible we could get involved. But we are not at this moment involved.”

Additionally, a White House official is telling Fox News that Mr. Trump at the G-7 meeting at Calgary will not sign a joint statement that is expected to call for Israel and Iran to de-escalate.

Right up until Israel lowered the boom on Iran, Mr. Trump and his emissaries sought a peaceful deal. Fittingly, the president continues to talk publicly about a deal.

The point is: Iran could never be trusted.

If there were a deal, it would be a fake deal, where the mullahs would simply buy time to try to regroup their defenses and expand their nuclearization.

We know this because we know the whole history of dealing with Iran.

There has never been any suggestion that Iran would verifiably stop enriching uranium for their bombmaking. Ever.

In all likelihood, the only point at which Iran could be believed would be that point when Ayatollah Khamenei and the mullahcracy and its theocratic dictatorship are overturned by a secular government. 

In other words, free Iran — with regime change.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has reached out to the people of Iran, saying “the day of your liberation is near.”

This of course would have to be a homegrown revolution.

I’m not advocating any American nation-building.

Freedom will come to Iran only when the Iranian street overturns the mullahs.

All that said, I agree with the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board that America should help Israel with deep penetrating bombs and the heavy bombers to deliver them with.

That would deal with the Fordow nuclear site buried deep under a mountain, and would probably be helpful to totally degrade Natanz and Isfahan.

Israel has degraded Iran’s defenses and taken out its military and scientific leaders. There are traffic jams leaving Tehran as Iranians are fleeing.

Yet if the mullahs somehow remain in power with some kind of unenforceable and unverifiable deal, but Fordow or other nuclear sites still exist, then the Israeli victory will come to naught, and we will wind up repeating the whole sorry episode a year or two later.

From Mr. Kudlow’s broadcast on Fox Business Network.