MAGA allies deride attacking Iran — but won't criticize Trump directly
As Republicans battle over direct military engagement with Iran, prominent conservatives and allies of the president have emerged as forceful voices against intervening, lashing out at a host of political players — except for President Donald Trump.
Warring factions within the Republican Party have sought to pull Trump in opposing directions on how to deal with Iran. Isolationists are seeking to hold Trump to his repeated campaign promises to not involve the U.S. in another major Middle East war, while interventionists like Sen. Lindsey Graham have urged the president to go tougher on Iran — an approach that appears to be winning Trump's favor.
Even as Republicans have spoken up against engaging in a conflict with Iran, criticizing everyone from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Graham for their role in the unfolding conflict, few dared to directly attack the president over his approach.
'Take screenshots of every single right winger who is shit talking Trump right now,' conservative social media personality Laura Loomer wrote on X on Monday, encouraging her followers to post the evidence in the replies. 'I have most of them. But I don't want to miss any.'
Loomer specifically slammed 'grifters' for 'turning on President Trump' in speaking out against possible military intervention in Iran.
Longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon cautioned against U.S. military involvement in Iran, warning at a Christian Science Monitor event on Wednesday that 'we can't have another Iraq.'
'The Israelis have to finish what they started. They started this. They should finish it,' he continued, criticizing Netanyahu for expecting the Trump administration to rush to his aid after launching an attack on Iran last week.
Still, many of Trump's backers have been vocal in their support of his approach to Iran.
'President Trump is a President of peace, not of war,' Freedom Caucus member Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) said on Tuesday. 'I trust him and his Cabinet to put America First, and I'm with him all the way.'
The split within the party appeared to also motivate Vice President JD Vance — a veteran who historically sided with isolationists — to weigh in. In a 375-word post on X Tuesday, Vance acknowledged the concerns over a long- drawn-out war but staunchly defended the president and potential actions against Iran.
'Of course, people are right to be worried about foreign entanglement after the last 25 years of idiotic foreign policy,' Vance said. 'But I believe the president has earned some trust on this issue.'
Trump himself seems to be trying to balance the two sides. After initially shying away from directly supporting Israel's campaign against Iran, he indicated the U.S. is poised to assist with direct attacks, and is considering using American 'bunker buster' bombs to target Iran's Fordow enrichment facility, which the Israeli military is not equipped to destroy alone.
The administration has stood firm on its position amid criticism from within the party.
'President Trump has never wavered in his stance that Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon and repeated that promise to the American people since his victorious campaign. Americans trust President Trump to make the right decisions to keep them safe,' White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said.
One of the few conservative figures willing to directly attack Trump is former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who last week accused the president of being 'complicit in the act of war' after Israel launched missiles at Iran.
Carlson continued his broadsides against more hawkish GOP figures and tangled with Sen. Ted Cruz in an episode of Carlson's podcast that aired Wednesday, attacking the senator for his seeming obliviousness to the nuances of the Iranian nation that he was encouraging action against.
Carlson's salvo against Trump elicited the president's ire, with Trump on Monday criticizing him as 'kooky' on Truth Social.
But Trump Wednesday seemed to suggest he and Carlson had smoothed things over.
'Tucker is a nice guy. He called and apologized the other day, because he thought he said things that were a little bit too strong, and I appreciated that,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a staunch supporter of the president, also came close to direct criticism of the president when she came out in support of the former Fox News host.
'He unapologetically believes the same things I do,' Greene wrote in a post on X. 'Foreign wars/intervention/regime change put America last, kill innocent people, are making us broke, and will ultimately lead to our destruction. That's not kooky. That's what millions of Americans voted for.'
In a separate post, Greene slammed the 'neocon warmongers' she said were seeking a 'proxy war with Russia in Ukraine, fighting Iran for Israel, and protecting Taiwan for China.'
But some Republican leaders seemed unfazed by the swell of protest from within MAGA circles.
"We have people as you know in our party who have different views about America's role in the world,' said Senate Majority Leader John Thune. 'But I think the president is well within his authority, understands what's at stake in ensuring Iran never has a nuclear weapon and will do everything he can to protect America and American interest."
Jordain Carney and Jake Traylor contributed to this report.
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