 "US President Donald Trump. Reuters File")
As US President Donald Trump appears to be preparing to join Israel in attacking Iran, his supporters in the Maga movement are split over the US involvement in the conflict.
While ideological hardliners of the Make America Great Again (Maga) movement are criticising Trump’s inclination to join the war, those loyal to Trump or those who have come to the folds of Maga from a traditional Republican background have put their weight behind Trump.
Among the most prominent Maga figures, those opposing an intervention in the Israel-Iran war include Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and far-right commentators Tucker Carlson and Charlie Kirk. Those standing behind Trump and slamming his critics include Vice President JD Vance, far-right activist Laura Loomer, podcaster Ben Shapiro, and Fox News host Mark Levin.
As the Israel’s war on Iran has entered the sixth day, it has become clear that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cannot achieve the main objective of the war of destroying Iranian capabilities without US help. As Firstpost’s Madhur Sharma previously noted , one of the most important nuclear sites, Fordow, is located deep underground and can only be struck by ‘bunker buster’ bomb that the United States has.
There are indications that Trump is giving Iran one last chance to make a deal before he decides to join Israel in the war. He has already moved warplanes, aerial refuelling tankers, and an entire carrier strike group to West Asia for potential operations.
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More ShortsTrump faces revolt from Maga stalwarts
Trump came to power on an anti-interventionist platform. He said that he would end or curtain US involvement in fighting wars abroad and focus resources to domestic affairs. He said he would end the wars in Gaza and Ukraine — he blamed Nato’s expansionism under his predecessor, Joe Biden, for the latter war.
In his first term, Trump had withdrawn US personnel from Syria, reduced the supports to Kurds in the country, and signed the deal with the Taliban for withdrawal from Afghanistan. In the second term, he has aligned himself with Russia and withdrawn from security commitments in Europe.
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With such a record, Trump pushing the United States into a fresh war that poses no direct, immediate threat to the United States would mean putting “America last, kill innocent people, are making us broke, and will ultimately lead to our destruction”, according to Rep. Greene, the far-right Congresswoman who has been a leading Trump cheerleader.
In a post on X, Greene joined ranks with Carlson, who has gone from being a traditional conservative to a pro-Russia, pro-Iran far-right figure in recent years.
The issue of US involvement in the Israel-Iran war is so divisive that it will kill the core of the Maga movement, said Steve Bannon, the far-right media figure who led Trump’s first presidential campaign and served at White House in the first term.
“It’s going to not just blow up the coalition. It’s also going to thwart what we’re doing with the most important thing, which is the deportation,” said Bannon.
Carlson refused to acknowledge Iran as the enemy and framed the Israeli war as one against the people of Iran — not Ayatollah Khamenei’s regime.
“You’re not going to convince me that the Iranian people are my enemy. “It’s Orwell, man. I’m a free man. You’re not telling me who I have to hate,” said Carlson.
Kirk said that the reason young Americans supported Trump was that “he was the first president in my lifetime to not start a new war”.
“The last thing America needs right now is a new war. Our number one desire must be peace, as quickly as possible,” Kirk further said.
Trump’s loyalists strike back
Trump’s loyalists, led by Vice President Vance, struck back at critics. While some of them explained that Trump’s position had remained consistent regarding over the years and that any attack would not be a deviation, some discredited the critics and said they were compromised by their ties to Iran and Iran’s partners.
Vance said on X that Trump “has been amazingly consistent, over 10 years, that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon”. He pointed out that Iran has continued to enrich uranium to near-weapons grade level and has violated its non-proliferation obligations. He further said that Iran has also rejected US offers that allow it to have a civilian nuclear programme without uranium enrichment.
In such a case, Vance said that the method other than talks to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon comes into picture.
“The president has made clear that Iran cannot have uranium enrichment. And he said repeatedly that this would happen one of two ways–the easy way or the ‘other’ way,” said Vance.
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Far-right activist Loomer flagged Carlson’s ties to Iran and Qatar and said that he was compromised with such ties. She furnished government records to show that Carlson had taken $200,000 this year to conduct an interview with a Qatari official. She further said that he was “controlled by Muslims” and that a partner in his media company was a person with Pakistani roots.
“Tucker Carlson wants you to think his thoughts on Iran are based and original, but he’s literally participating in paid for interviews by the Qataris, who are funding and providing pent houses and luxury lifestyles to the leaders of Hamas in Doha. Tucker should just be honest that he’s a mouthpiece for genocidal Muslims. His media company was literally funded by a MUSLIM investor who is half Pakistani and half Iranian and who spends a lot of time in Qatar,” said Loomer.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, urged the president to “go all-in” in supporting Israel and destroying the Iranian nuclear programme.
“If that means providing bombs, provide bombs. If that means flying with Israel, fly with Israel,” said Graham.
Fox News host Levin said that Trump was “truly historic and iconic figure” for his support of Israel.
Senator Mitch McConnell, who has supported Trump over the years but distanced lately, said that “isolationist movement led by Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon are distressed we may be helping the Israelis defeat the Iranians”.