MAGA divide over Iran splinters Trump allies

The Hill

5 hours ago

The prospect of U.S. involvement in an increasingly volatile conflict between Israel and Iran has cleaved clear divisions within the MAGA movement – a rarity over the course of President Trump's decade-long political career.
Top Trump allies have pleaded their case in recent weeks directly to the president and on social media for why the U.S. should fully avoid engaging in any dispute between Iran and Israel. On another side, other Trump allies are arguing it is in the president's interest to take a more aggressive posture toward Iran.
Some have suggested the schism could fracture the president's coalition. Sources who spoke with The Hill downplayed that notion, arguing Trump is the ultimate arbiter of what constitutes 'America first.'
Here is who falls into each camp.
A vocal group of influential MAGA voices have been banging the drum in recent days to argue against any kind of U.S involvement in a conflict with Iran.
Those figures have made the case that targeting Iran would contradict Trump's 'America First' foreign policy rhetoric and would echo the mistakes of the George W. Bush administration, which Trump has sharply criticized.
'This is exactly the same pitch as the Iraq war,' former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon said on Tucker Carlson's show on X.
Carlson has also been an outspoken opponent of U.S. involvement in the Middle East, going as far as to call out by name individuals he claimed were 'warmongers' in the president's ear.
The former Fox News host voiced frustrations after Israel late last week launched missile strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities and killed multiple top Iranian military officials. Carlson wrote that Trump was 'complicit in the act of war' and said what occurs next in the region 'will define Donald Trump's presidency.'
Those comments did not sit well with Trump, who derided Carlson as 'kooky' in a social media post.
Coming to Carlson's defense was a typically staunch Trump ally: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). She posted on X that Carlson's opposition to foreign wars did not make him 'kooky.'
'Americans want cheap gas, groceries, bills, and housing. They want affordable insurance, safe communities, and good education for their children. They want a government that works on these issues,' Greene posted on Tuesday.
'Considering Americans pay for the entire government and government salaries with their hard earned tax dollars, this is where our focus should be,' Greene added. 'Not going into another foreign war.'
On the other end of the spectrum are the Trump allies who have advocated for Trump to take an aggressive approach toward Iran.
That has taken on different forms, including those cheering on Israel and urging U.S. support for its ally as Israeli forces strike Iran, as well as those pressing for Trump to more directly go on offense against Tehran.
One of the leading figures in that push has been Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who is among Trump's top allies on Capitol Hill. Graham has in recent days made the case that Iran had its opportunity to negotiate with the administration, but that the time for action was now.
Graham late Monday called for Trump to be 'all in,' whether that meant providing bombs to Israel, flying joint operations with the Israeli military or even replacing Iranian leadership.
'Four presidents have promised to make sure Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapon. It will be Donald J. Trump who delivers on that promise very soon,' Graham said Tuesday.
Mark Levin, a Fox News host who Trump watches and cites regularly, has also pushed back on the notion that pushing back on Iran amounts to a betrayal of the MAGA movement.
'There's nothing new or good about isolationism, which, in a word, is appeasement,' Levin wrote in a New York Post op-ed published Monday.
'The isolationists tell us that to oppose this is to be a warmonger and anti-MAGA,' Levin added. 'No, they're not MAGA. But we've seen their like before.'
A third category of MAGA voices emerged in the last 48 hours as some influential voices more or less expressed deference to Trump in whatever he decided.
Those figures have essentially made the case that Trump has earned the trust of his supporters, and that even some military action would not amount to a betrayal of the 'America first' movement.
'He may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment. That decision ultimately belongs to the president. And of course, people are right to be worried about foreign entanglement after the last 25 years of idiotic foreign policy,' Vice President Vance wrote in a lengthy social media post on Tuesday.
'But I believe the president has earned some trust on this issue,' added Vance, who served in the Marines. 'And having seen this up close and personal, I can assure you that he is only interested in using the American military to accomplish American people's goals. Whatever he does, that is his focus.'
Charlie Kirk, the Turning Point USA founder and a figure with significant influence in Trump's orbit, essentially made the case late Monday that the president knows best and won't alienate his base, whatever he decides.
'He is not an isolationist. He is willing to use violent and precise force against our enemies…if and when necessary,' Kirk told Jesse Waters on Fox News.
'President Trump understands his base extraordinarily well. He knows that his base does not want another Iraq, does not want Libya, does not want a civil war or bedlam where the United States is left carrying the bag,' Kirk added. 'But also President Trump has been morally clear for a decade, Iran should not have a nuclear weapon.'