Why MAGA isn't going gaga about Trump backing Israel

India Today

5 hours ago

As Israel and Iran exchanged strikes amid escalated tensions over the latter's nuclear ambitions, US President Donald Trump and his MAGA supporters found themselves at political crossroads, exposing seemingly deep divisions within the Republican base. While Trump publicly supported Israel's actions and urged Iran to abandon its nuclear plans, much of his MAGA-aligned base responded with hesitation or silence.This must be seen against the backdrop of how Trump's rise to political power has been strongly tied to his "America First" approach, which emphasises staying out of foreign conflicts.advertisementHe has frequently criticised the prolonged US military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, conflicts initiated under President George W Bush and extended during President Barack Obama's administration.MAGA REMINDS TRUMP: 'AMERICA FIRST'
Charlie Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA, a non-profit organisation, asked his 5 million followers whether the US should join Israel's war against Iran. By Friday afternoon, over 3,50,000 people had voted, and most of them said "No".During a Thursday night podcast, as Charlie Kirk read United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio's statement on the strikes, right-wing activist Jack Posobiec — well-known among MAGA supporters — cut in, saying the message wasn't supportive.Infowars host Owen Shroyer, among those pardoned by Trump over the January 6 Capitol attack, shared a video on X casting the latest conflict as a defining moment for the MAGA base."America, the Trump movement, MAGA — whatever you call it — is going to go through serious soul-searching as this unfolds, because a lot of MAGA is anti-war," Shroyer said."What's the point of 'Make America Great Again' if we can't stay out of a war-torn region, if we're constantly dragged into foreign conflicts fuelled by hate?" asked Shroyer.He added, "We'll never be able to make America great again if we stay entangled in the Middle East."REPUBLICANS ARE A PRO-ISRAEL PARTY: TRUMP ADVISORadvertisementBut Israel's latest action pits traditional Republican support for the Jewish state, and antipathy toward Iran, against the MAGA base's fear that the US will be drawn into a new foreign war, according to a report on NBC News.And even within Trump's MAGA wing, there's a long-running split over American backing of Israel. Trump has always been on the pro-Israel side of the divide, according to the report."Republicans are a pro-Israel party, and the president hasn't wavered on that," the news channel quoted one long-time Trump adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, as saying."I think the challenge here is not how to move forward. The question is how to sell that to the recalcitrant base," the adviser added.Israel launched its strike in an effort to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon and to pressure Tehran into abandoning its nuclear ambitions.PRO-TRUMPER LAURA LOOMER SUPPORTS ISRAEL POLICYMeanwhile, Trump-aligned far-right commentator Laura Loomer shared multiple posts backing both Trump and Israel."Iran," Loomer said, "must never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon."Mehek Cooke, an attorney and pro-Trump political commentator active in the MAGA movement, said, "Israel's strikes were not just justified; they were inevitable."advertisement"This matters to every American, including the MAGA movement. You can't negotiate with regimes chanting 'Death to America'," NBC quoted her as saying.Cooke cited a Rasmussen poll indicating that 57% of respondents support US military action to counter Iran's nuclear ambitions. She expressed confidence that Trump's MAGA base will stay unified in backing him.Tune InMust Watch