Little noticed in the hyper-compressed news cycle is the minor revolt among some of Trump’s strongest supporters, who are loudly dissenting from the Trump Iran policies.
“Hey, I voted for peace!” seems to be the war cry. John wrote about Trump’s split with Tucker Carlson last night.
Here is Dave Smith apologizing for voting for Trump and calling for his impeachment
The Woke Right is the fusion of an intel op with useful idiots
— Shaun Maguire (@shaunmmaguire) June 16, 2025
Both Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon have been pushing back on Trump’s support for the war, and both have been accusing Israel of betraying the United States by dragging us into the war.
Former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon on how the president’s enemies are working to destroy MAGA with the war on Iran.
(0:00) Will the Iran War Be the Downfall of MAGA?
(6:55) Fox News’ Pro-War Propaganda
(12:42) The Never-Trumpers Pretending to Be On Trump’s Team
(15:30)… pic.twitter.com/PdUZFiUNNZ— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 16, 2025
They are just the tip of the iceberg. A significant fraction of the “America First” MAGA influencers are inclined to see that policy as “Fortress America,” believing that the core ideology of MAGA should be something close to “America alone.” They had some reason to believe that Trump agreed with them–Trump has been very tough on our allies up to the point of bullying them–but there have been plenty of indications that Trump is not trying to isolate America but shift its role in international relations.
Almost every significant populist MAGA influencer — @RealAlexJones @TuckerCarlson @scrowder @Stevebannon_sk @Peoples_Pundit @mtgreenee @mattgaetz @Cernovich @JackPosobiec etc. — agree that @realDonaldTrump should stay out of direct further involvement in the #IsraelIranConflict
— Robert Barnes (@barnes_law) June 16, 2025
Trump has always been a strong supporter of Israel, and his shift from a focus on Europe and the Middle East to concentrating on the Pacific region as the locus of international competition has been pretty clear. This reflects his focus on economic dominance rather than focusing on the feelz of our allies and near-subservience to our allies’ transnational agenda.
I am proud that Tucker Carlson is standing his ground against the psychotic war mongering neocons that have brought the world to the verge of thermal nuclear Armageddon. @TuckerCarlson https://t.co/kwKA8Q0n8A pic.twitter.com/kO0iFh4pof
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) June 17, 2025
America first doesn’t mean “Fortress America,” but rather “Dominant America.” That explains Trump’s focus on the Arctic, Taiwan, and revising trade relationships with countries that he believes have been given a free ride in trade and have relied too heavily on America’s military support.
The US has been at war with one random Middle East country after another for my entire adult life. It’s baffling that there are people who want this to continue. Can we focus on own problems for a change? Is that such a radical suggestion?
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 15, 2025
Trump’s view of the world, I think, diverges from the isolationist wing of MAGA, and that is creating strains within the coalition. Probably non-fatal strains, because the average Trump supporter is more interested in a dominant America than an isolated one. That doesn’t mean they want American boots on the ground, as these isolationists worry might happen–but a relentless effort to put our enemies in their place.
No more Middle East regime change wars https://t.co/bd0mHAWjdv
— Former Congressman Matt Gaetz (@FmrRepMattGaetz) June 17, 2025
MAGA’s opposition to the US entanglement in Ukraine is based, I believe, on a sense that Ukraine is not our fight. Trump and most MAGA folks appear to believe that Russia is not a direct enemy of the United States because Russia doesn’t attack US interests, and there is deep skepticism that Russia’s interests fundamentally conflict with our own. Putin may be a bad guy, but he is not particularly dangerous to us, so why get involved?
This is malicious
Not wanting to got to war in Iran because Israel shot at them is not defending Iran
MAGA was centered around ending foreign wars not starting at them
Making conservatives an “enemy of civilization” because they believe in what Trump ran on is evil https://t.co/5iZTJILAUs
— Auron MacIntyre (@AuronMacintyre) June 17, 2025
It’s Europe’s fight, if they feel so threatened. My own sense is that the threat to Europe is wildly overblown. Putin’s interests in Ukraine are not irrational, while his choosing to go to war with Poland would be. Russian speakers dominate eastern Ukraine, and while that alone does not justify the war, it makes his claims rational. His claim to Crimea is even more understandable, given that the region was Russian for hundreds of years and is the home of the Black Sea Fleet.
Friendly reminder that Iran threatened President Trump’s life and made attempts to assassinate him that failed
I don’t want our troops being sent to a new war in the Middle East, but I’m also not going to forget that Iran is a hostile enemy of America https://t.co/qLFwh0KY0C
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) June 17, 2025
Iran, though, attacks America and American interests all the time. Its motto is “Death to America,” and while it is not an existential threat to our nation, it is a genuine one. Americans die because of Iranian aggression. Hence, it must go.
Trump attacking @TuckerCarlson for not supporting a new WORLD WAR is not something any sane person should support!
This is the stuff NIGHTMARES are MADE of… https://t.co/psY2V7Ok7I pic.twitter.com/Rr0Jb5l6P8
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) June 17, 2025
The split over Iran between Trump and some MAGA influencers has engaged leaders at the very top. Trump took on Tucker Carlson, as John wrote, and Vance is criticizing–indirectly–other anti-Iran involvement MAGA influencers, calling their views “crazy stuff.”
Look, I’m seeing this from the inside, and am admittedly biased towards our president (and my friend), but there’s a lot of crazy stuff on social media, so I wanted to address some things directly on the Iran issue:
First, POTUS has been amazingly consistent, over 10 years, that…
— JD Vance (@JDVance) June 17, 2025
Look, I’m seeing this from the inside, and am admittedly biased towards our president (and my friend), but there’s a lot of crazy stuff on social media, so I wanted to address some things directly on the Iran issue:
First, POTUS has been amazingly consistent, over 10 years, that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Over the last few months, he encouraged his foreign policy team to reach a deal with the Iranians to accomplish this goal. The president has made clear that Iran cannot have uranium enrichment. And he said repeatedly that this would happen one of two ways–the easy way or the “other” way. …
If Trump puts boots on the ground in Iran, MAGA is in trouble. If he doesn’t, support for Trump–especially if there is a regime change–will not be hurt by opposition from the isolationists.
Americans love a winner, and Trump’s support has always been stronger than that for Steve Bannon, Tucker Carlson, Dave Smith, or any of the influencers who supported him. They do reflect a real part of the movement, so I am not claiming they are irrelevant, but their defection will not fatally harm Trump or MAGA.
