MTG, Tucker Carlson urge Trump to stay out of Iran, exposing a MAGA rift
U.S. military action in Iran faces strong resistance from MAGA, with some of President Donald Trump's top supporters urging him not to join the Middle East conflict.
WASHINGTON — The prospect of potential U.S. military action in Iran is facing strong resistance from within the MAGA movement, with some of President Donald Trump's most ardent supporters urging him not join Israel in conducting air strikes.
Conservative pundit Tucker Carlson and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who sat near Trump in the VIP section at his military parade over the weekend, are among the MAGA stars pressing for the U.S. military to stay out of the fight, which they say is out of step with the movement's principles.
Greene said in a June 16 social media post that "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. It’s what we believe is America First," she added.
The comments were indicative of an emerging rift within Trump's base - the Republican's 2024 White House campaign promised to 'prevent World War III' - over how much military support the United States should offer Israel.
Carlson last week called Trump "complicit in the act of war," prompting Trump on June 16 to offer a rare brushback.
The former Fox News host accused Trump of being “complicit in the act of war" in a newsletter he said could be his last before "all-out war" breaks out as the conflict between Israel and Iran potentially widens.
Greene then said in a June 15 post on X that that MAGA Republicans are "sick and tired of foreign wars" of all types and want U.S. servicemembers focused on protecting America's borders, rather than fighting and dying in overseas conflicts that have cost the U.S. trillions of dollars.
"Anyone slobbering for the U.S. to become fully involved in the Israel/Iran war is not America First/MAGA," she said.
The United States has not helped Israel with its missile campaign, both countries say, other than help defend the nation from Iranian attacks.
But the president's message to residents of Tehran that they should evacuate the city and warnings to Iran that they should come back to the nuclear negotiating table "before it's too late" led to widespread concern that the U.S. may be gearing up to enter the fight.
Trump has also told Iran repeatedly that if it does not come to an agreement with the United States to end its nuclear enrichment program it risks a more aggressive and less diplomatic response.
While fielding questions from reporters on the Middle East before his abrupt departure from an international summit, Trump hit back at Carlson over criticisms of his approach to the war.
“I don’t know what Tucker Carlson is saying. Let him go get a television network and say it so that people listen," Trump said.
Greene later came to Carlson's defense. Without mentioning Trump, she said Carlson "unapologetically believes the same things I do" about the need for America to prioritize its homeland.
"That if we don’t fight for our own country and our own people then we will no longer have a country for our children and our grandchildren," she said. " It’s what we believe is America First."
Trump has not engaged since. Instead, as the president focused on the conflict writ large, his vice president jumped in.
Vance said Trump has been "amazingly consistent, over 10 years, that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon" and has encouraged his team to reach a deal with the Iranians.
"Meanwhile, the president has shown remarkable restraint in keeping our military's focus on protecting our troops and protecting our citizens," Vance said.
Vance said at the end of the long social media post, "He may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment. That decision ultimately belongs to the president. And of course, people are right to be worried about foreign entanglement after the last 25 years of idiotic foreign policy."