President Trump’s anti-war MAGA base mostly stood behind his decision to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities, but many of his staunchest supporters drew a line Sunday at further U.S. military involvement that may soon become unavoidable if Iran follows through with retaliation threats.
After urging the president to stay out of the burgeoning war between Israel and Iran, some of Mr. Trump’s most vocal anti-war backers viewed his order to drop 14 “bunker buster” bombs and hundreds of missiles on Saturday night as a one-and-done move that will bring peace to the region by disabling Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
“This is a surgical strike, operated perfectly,” said Turning Point Action CEO Charlie Kirk, a leader of the MAGA youth faction who has voiced opposition to U.S. military involvement in the Middle East. “President Trump acted with prudence and decisiveness.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a die-hard Trump supporter, expressed opposition to the bombing but stood by the president.
“I can … support President Trump and his great administration on many of the great things they are doing while disagreeing on bombing Iran and getting involved in a hot war that Israel started,” Ms. Greene posted on X.
Further escalation with Iran that could fracture the MAGA movement seemed more than likely.
In a Sunday social media post, Mr. Trump suggested that he might get the United States involved in taking out not just Iran’s nuclear facilities but also the Iranian government, which has turned Iran into the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism.
“It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change,’ but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???” Mr. Trump said. “MIGA!!!”
Hours earlier, Vice President J.D. Vance said the Trump administration “has been very clear that we don’t want a regime change” and does not want a protracted war with Iran.
The president’s staunchest anti-war faction cheered Mr. Trump’s statement Thursday that he would hold off on military intervention in Iran for another two weeks to give the Iranian government time to negotiate a last-ditch deal to end its nuclear program.
He ran for president three times on promises to keep U.S. troops out of “endless wars.” A central pillar of the “America First” agenda that informs his presidency is to steer the United States away from “prolonged efforts” abroad, such as nation-building.
His supporters had faith that he would stick to that plan.
“God Bless President Trump. He is showing his wisdom,” Matt Gaetz, a television host and former congressman who is among the loudest anti-war voices in Mr. Trump’s base, said after the president announced the two-week pause.
The postponement turned out to be a feint. Two days after Mr. Gaetz praised the president’s restraint, Mr. Trump ordered the U.S. military to bomb three of Iran’s underground nuclear facilities in a surprise attack.
Mr. Gaetz and other anti-war MAGA stalwarts may have felt burned by the president, but they didn’t show it.
The MAGA base voiced support for Mr. Trump but signaled they are redrawing their red line at U.S. military intervention to take out Iran’s government.
“Just remember: every regime change war has been extremely popular at the start,” Mr. Gaetz posted on X. “But the historical trajectory isn’t good.”
In a White House address Saturday night, Mr. Trump said the objective of the strikes was to destroy Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and put a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism.
The strike against Iran follows Mr. Trump’s longtime pledge to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb. He first made the promise when he launched his presidential campaign in 2015. Last week, Mr. Trump said he believed the Islamic republic was “a few weeks away” from being capable of producing a nuclear weapon.
Iran has a long history of ignoring the terms of a joint nuclear agreement that once included the United States. Their violations include enriching and storing excessive amounts of uranium beyond what is needed for peaceful purposes and thwarting inspections.
Mr. Trump gave Iran 60 days to agree to a new nuclear deal that involved ending its uranium enrichment. On the 61st day, with no deal in sight, Israel began bombing Iran but could not finish the job of wiping out underground nuclear sites without specialized U.S. bombs delivered by the U.S. military.
The president said Sunday that the damage American bombs caused to Iran’s nuclear facilities was “monumental,” although it was unclear whether their nuclear capabilities were fully eliminated. Mr. Trump made no mention of taking out the Iranian regime or its clerical leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Still, he warned on social media earlier this month that the United States knows his location.
“Regime change in Tehran does not appear to be part of Washington’s current agenda,” said Ali Alfoneh, senior fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute.
Future U.S. military action, however, may be unavoidable.
Iran quickly pledged to retaliate against the United States and threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz waterway, through which 20% of the world’s oil is transported.
Experts are divided on whether, when or how Iran would strike out at the United States and its assets in the Middle East, which include U.S. embassies and American troops. Security experts warned that terrorist cells could strike back somewhere within the United States.
Mr. Trump said Saturday that if Iran does not “make peace,” there will be future attacks “far greater and a lot easier.”
The acting U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Dorothy Shea, said a direct or indirect attack by the Iranian regime “will be met with devastating retaliation.”
Escalation is almost guaranteed if Iran strikes back and will likely cost the president some of his most loyal supporters, who will blame him for entangling America in another Middle East conflict.
Right-wing podcaster Alex Jones, who has 4.4 million followers on social media, said the president’s order to bomb Iran had launched World War III.
He made the statement after Russian Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on X that “a number of countries” are prepared to supply Iran with nuclear warheads.
“This is escalating so incredibly fast,” Mr. Jones said. “Trump is being maneuvered into this.”
• Seth McLaughlin contributed to this report.
