MAGA movement divided over Trump's move to bomb Iran
President Donald Trump's MAGA sphere of conservative media and influencers — many of whom had expressed skepticism before his decision to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities — is divided over the president's dramatic move to strike.
Many of its most prominent figures rallied around Trump. But others sharply criticized the decision, said they want to see more explanation than his brief Saturday night speech, or warned of a drawn-out conflict.
Ahead of Saturday's bombing, the prospect of United States involvement in another Middle Eastern conflict had opened rifts in the GOP. Trump himself had ripped the United States' involvement in wars in the Middle East as a presidential candidate, and his 'Make America Great Again' movement includes many more isolationist voices aligned with his 'America First' vision. Those voices were at odds in recent days with GOP hawks who advocated a muscular US role in supporting Israel in its bid to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
But after Trump's Saturday night announcement, some prominent MAGA voices rallied around the president.
'Iran gave President Trump no choice,' said Charlie Kirk, a pro-Trump media personality and founder of the activist group Turning Point USA.
'For a decade he has been adamant that Iran will never get a nuclear weapon. Iran decided to forego diplomacy in pursuit of a bomb. This is a surgical strike, operated perfectly,' Kirk said Saturday on X. 'President Trump acted with prudence and decisiveness.'
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who withdrew as Trump's first selection for attorney general, compared on X Trump's bombing of Iran Saturday to his first-term killing of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, which was met with some predictions that it would ignite a regional conflict that did not come true.
'President Trump basically wants this to be like the Soleimani strike - one and done. No regime change war,' Gaetz said Saturday night on X. 'Trump the Peacemaker!'
However, on Sunday, Gaetz expressed skepticism toward any broader mission in Iran.
'Just remember: every regime change war has been extremely popular at the start. But the historical trajectory isn't good.' he said on X, later adding: 'There will always be another Iranian mountain to bomb for the neocons.'
Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a staunch Trump ally, posted Saturday night on X: 'There would not be bombs falling on the people of Israel if Netanyahu had not dropped bombs on the people of Iran first. Israel is a nuclear armed nation. This is not our fight. Peace is the answer.'
It's too early to tell how the American public — and particularly those within Trump's MAGA movement — will react to the United States' bombing of Iran.
On Wednesday, before the bombing, a Washington Post one-day survey of Americans, conducted with SSRS, found that 45% opposed US airstrikes against Iran, 25% supported airstrikes and 30% were unsure. Republicans were more likely than Democrats to say they viewed Iran's nuclear program as a serious threat, and more likely to support airstrikes. Polls conducted in one day can be subject to larger potential errors than those fielded over multiple days, since not everyone selected to participate may be available to respond on that single day.
Some prominent figures in Trump's MAGA movement called for the president to delve into more detail on his decision to step directly into what had been a conflict between Israel and Iran.
Steve Bannon, Trump's former chief strategist and now a pro-Trump podcaster, said Saturday night that the president has 'some work to do' to explain his decision to supporters.
'I do think that the president's got to have a little deeper explanation of this — particularly why it looks like we're doing the heavy lifting for Israel,' he said on his podcast shortly after Trump addressed the nation Saturday night.
He also said he was concerned with 'incrementalism' and the prospect of the United States entering a 'forever war' if Iran retaliates and the US takes further action.
And he warned that being pulled into a Middle Eastern conflict could distract from Trump's domestic agenda.
'This is how you don't focus on sanctuary cities. This is how you don't focus on the great big, beautiful bill — everything you need to do,' Bannon said. 'Not that it's wrong to take these actions. Sometimes you must take these actions. I think President Trump came to the conclusion that he had to take these actions.'
Jack Posobiec, a pro-Trump commentator, on X sought to portray Trump's bombing of Iran as one intended to accomplish a specific target, rather than the first step in a longer-term effort to oust Iranian leadership.
'President Trump has clearly signaled, as he has all along, that he opposes a regime change war in Iran. This is about the nuclear program of Iran which he promised he would end from day one,' Posobiec said.
Laura Loomer, a pro-Trump activist who said Trump 'just saved us all from a nuclear holocaust' by bombing Iran, noted the silence from some in Trump's movement who had opposed US involvement.
'Can someone please conduct a wellness check on Tucker Carlson, Dave Smith, Candace Owens and the entire MAHA crew?' she wrote on X, making reference to the 'Make America Healthy Again' movement of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. supporters who backed Trump.
Carlson, a former FOX News host and one of the loudest voices opposing US involvement in Iran, as of late Sunday morning had said nothing on social media about Trump's bombing.
Owens, a conservative commentator who said on her YouTube show last week that 'MAGA was a declaration of war on neocons' and accused Trump of fracturing his base, was perhaps the most vocal critic Saturday.
Owens, who regularly expresses anti-Israel views, pointed to the $100 million that pro-Israel donor Miriam Adelson gave a pro-Trump super PAC during the 2024 presidential campaign.
'If we had raised the 100 million Adelson gave him on Go Fund Me, maybe he would have kept his promises,' she wrote on X. 'Guess we'll never know.'
She also called his post on Truth Social announcing the bombing 'utterly deranged.'
Trump, for his part, said the GOP was behind him and called for passage of his massive tax and spending package.
'Great unity in the Republican Party, perhaps unity like we have never seen before. Now let's get the Great, Big, Beautiful Bill done. Our Country is doing GREAT. MAGA!' Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Sunday.
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