Trump says supporters are 'more in love' with him than ever, as involvement in Iran roils MAGA world
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday downplayed any notion that his supporters are cooling on him amid uncertainty over whether he will order a U.S. strike on Iran, addressing a rift between some of his most vocal MAGA backers and national security conservatives.
'My supporters are more in love with me today, and I'm more in love with them, more than they even were at election time where we had a total landslide,' Trump told reporters as a new flagpole was erected at the White House, with machinery whirring in the background.
'I may have some people that are a little bit unhappy now, but I have some people that are very happy, and I have people outside of the base that can't believe that this is happening, they're so happy,' he said.
Trump huddled Tuesday in the Situation Room with his national security team, and on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that the Pentagon was providing Trump with possible options on Iran but would not say whether the military was planning to assist with Israeli strikes.
'I may do it, I may not do it,' Trump said Wednesday, in the exchange with reporters. 'I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do.'
Trump's comments came as some longtime defenders of his America First mantra are calling him out for weighing a greater U.S. role in the conflict between Israel and Iran after a week of deadly strikes and counterstrikes.
Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, commentator Tucker Carlson and conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk are among those reminding their own devoted audiences of Trump's 2024 promises to resist overseas military involvement.
Here's a look at the others who have chimed in:
Steve Bannon
Shortly before Trump spoke, Steve Bannon, one of his 2016 campaign's top advisers, told an audience in Washington that bitter feelings over Iraq were a driving force for Trump's first presidential candidacy and the MAGA movement, saying that 'one of the core tenets is no forever wars' for Trump's base.
But Bannon — a longtime Trump ally who served a four-month sentence for defying a subpoena in the congressional investigation into the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021 — went on to suggest that Trump will maintain loyalty from his base no matter what. On Wednesday, Bannon acknowledged that while he and others will argue against military intervention until the end, 'the MAGA movement will back Trump.'
Ultimately, Bannon said that Trump will have to make the case to the American people if he wants to get involved in Iran — and he hasn't done that yet.
'We don't like it. Maybe we hate it," Bannon said, predicting what the MAGA response would be. "But, you know, we'll get on board.'
Alex Jones
The far-right conspiracy theorist and Infowars host on Wednesday posted on social media a side-by-side of Trump's official presidential headshot, and an AI-generated composite of Trump and former President George W. Bush, whom Trump and many of his allies have long disparaged for involving the United States in the so-called 'forever wars' in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Writing 'What you voted for' above Trump's image and 'What you got' above the composite, Jones added: 'I hope this is not the case…'
Tucker Carlson
The commentator's rhetoric toward Trump has been increasingly critical, with the longtime supporter — who headlined large rallies with the Republican during the 2024 campaign — this week suggesting that the president's posture was breaking his pledge to keep the United States out of new foreign entanglements. Trump clapped back at Carlson on social media, calling him 'kooky.'
During an event at the White House later Wednesday, Trump said that Carlson had 'called and apologized' for calling him out, saying Carlson 'is a nice guy.'
On Wednesday, his conversation with GOP Texas Sen. Ted Cruz laid bare the divides among many Republicans. The two sparred for two hours over a variety of issues, primarily potential U.S. involvement in Iran, and Carlson accusing Cruz of placing too much emphasis on protecting Israel in his foreign policy worldview.
'You don't know anything about Iran,' Carlson said to Cruz, after the senator said he didn't know Iran's population, or its ethnic composition. 'You're a senator who's calling for the overthrow of a government, and you don't know anything about the country.'
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Kinnard reported from Chapin, South Carolina, and can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP.
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