Not what 'MAGA wanted to hear': Tensions within GOP remain about Trump's Iran strike

MAGA figure Steve Bannon said Trump's comments about potential future strikes on Iran are "open ended" and worried the situation could escalate.
After President Donald Trump finished his address to the nation about bombing Iran, close ally and MAGA leader Steve Bannon declared on his podcast that it may not have been what 'a lot of MAGA wanted to hear.'
Trump indicated he doesn't want to escalate further, but said 'if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill.'
Bannon called Trump's comments about potential additional strikes 'open ended' and said the situation has the potential to escalate.
'This is incrementalism,' Bannon said. 'If they hit back at American troops, do we go back in and hit again? Next thing you know, brother, you're in a forever war.'
A vociferous debate about whether Trump should bomb Iran's nuclear facilities played out among conservatives in the lead up to the June 21 attack. Some prominent MAGA figures said a strike would go against Trump's anti-interventionist approach, which has tapped into deep discontent with prolonged wars in the Middle East and reshaped the party's foreign policy.
Opposition to 'forever wars' has become one of the central tenets of the Trump GOP, something the president has repeatedly highlighted in casting himself as a 'peacemaker' who would get the country out of war − not start new ones. That makes this a delicate and legacy-defining moment for Trump. It's also a sensitive one for him within his own party.
More: 'It's blowing up': The Iran conflict is sparking a MAGA civil war
Many Republicans are rallying around the president after the Iran strike. Everyone from Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence to a slew of congressional leaders and MAGA figures such as Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk praised the move.
'Great unity in the Republican Party,' Trump wrote on social media the day after the attack. 'Perhaps unity like we have never seen before.'
But tensions remain among conservatives. Bannon pointed to posts on the message board for his show in arguing Trump has 'some work to do' to sell his Iran strike to his base, particularly younger conservatives. What comes next will be key. Figures such as Bannon are concerned about seeking regime change in Iran, and don't want to see the situation escalate.
'No regime change war,' former Florida congressman and MAGA firebrand turned conservative media figure Matt Gaetz wrote on social media June 22, saying he hopes any Iran retaliation would be minimal and not prompt further U.S. attacks.
The Trump administration is attuned to such concerns. Vice President JD Vance appeared on two prominent television programs June 22 to make the case that Trump isn't pursuing regime change.
'I certainly empathize with Americans who are exhausted after 25 years of foreign entanglements in the Middle East, I understand the concern,' Vance said on NBC, adding: 'This is not going to be some long, drawn-out thing.'
Vance also addressed the contradiction between the president casting himself as a peacemaker while dropping bombs on Iran.
'There's a question about how do you achieve peace, and we believe the way you achieve peace is through strength,' Vance said on ABC.
Some conservatives are dismissing concerns that Trump's bombing campaign could fracture the GOP.
Longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone told USA TODAY Trump is "far too wise" to get drawn into a "prolonged never-ending war," which he said is the only thing that could divide the MAGA coalition.
Lanhee Chen, a fellow with the conservative Hoover Institution and former adviser to leading GOP figures, said on NBC June 22 that the debate between the the GOP leading up to Trump's strike on Iran has been muted since the bombs fell.
Chen argued that keeping Iran from having nuclear weapons has long been a unifying point for Republicans. If the attack ends up being similar to what Trump did in 2020 when he ordered a drone strike that killed an Iranian general and didn't escalate into broader conflict, then Chen believes Trump is "going to be able to hold the coalition together."
Republican consultant Matt Gorman said on Fox News Sunday that Trump "threaded the needle beautifully."
Gorman, who served as an adviser to GOP U.S. Sen. Tim Scott's 2024 presidential campaign, said the Trump administration has been clear that the Iran attack is "a very limited, targeted, focused operation. They don't want anything long term."
Iran's response could change the Trump administration's calculus, though. The president is gambling he can deliver a targeted strike without getting drawn into a prolonged conflict, something he has pledged to avoid.
"We will measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the wars that we end — and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into," Trump said on Inauguration Day.
That commitment could be tested if Iran hits back and Trump weighs whether to retaliate with more U.S. strikes, which he is promising to do.
'I think the concerning part, at least the part that's open ended, is these additional strikes," Bannon said.

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