MAGA Fault Lines—or Just More Noise?
Happy Summer! During the summer, I spend less time indoors reading and writing, so my articles might take a little longer to get out. I am working on a couple of projects, one of which should be ready for publication by the end of next week. However, I wanted to provide my thoughts on the recent reports that trouble is brewing in MAGA land.
Over the past few days, there have been some rare public disagreements among key figures within the MAGAsphere. Some of MAGA’s major players have bristled at Trump’s willingness to get involved in the Israel-Iran war. Tucker Carlson accused Trump of being “complicit” in Israel’s strikes on Iran and warned the situation could spiral into a U.S. war. Charlie Kirk echoed those concerns, warning against “regime change” and calling for restraint. Steve Bannon, sounding alarmed, said escalating into war could “blow up the [MAGA] coalition.” Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted on X that Americans want cheaper groceries, not another foreign war.
Pro-Israel hawk Senator Lindsey Graham pushed hard for Trump to go “all-in” with Israel. Meanwhile, Fox News host Mark Levin--whom Trump watches and quotes frequently—dismissed the MAGA critics as “isolationists,” warning, “We’ve seen their like before.”
The cracks in MAGA didn’t last long.
Vice President JD Vance, known to oppose U.S. foreign interventions, stepped in to mediate, posting a carefully worded defense of Trump’s stance. He reminded the MAGA base that “POTUS has been amazingly consistent, over 10 years, that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon”. He reassured them that Trump’s priority remains preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons—by diplomacy if possible and by force if necessary. He also reminded them of Trump’s long-standing opposition to regime change.
That reassurance was enough. Within hours of Vance’s post, Bannon and Kirk fell in line. “Maybe we hate it, but we’ll get on board,” Bannon told attendees at a Christian Science Monitor event. Kirk posted on X that Trump is the “man I trust to be making that decision.” Even Marjorie Taylor Greene has quieted her dissent.
Trump, though, is in a tough spot. The only viable military option for eliminating Iran’s deeply buried Fordow uranium enrichment plant is to use U.S. bunker-busting bombs dropped from American B-2 stealth bombers—something only the U.S. can do. Suppose diplomacy fails and Iran refuses a verifiable end to its nuclear program. In that case, Trump must choose between launching a U.S.-led military strike or allowing Iran to preserve their ability to restart a nuclear weapons program at any time. There’s no Israeli surrogate here. This decision falls squarely on Trump.
The risks for Trump are high: Iranian retaliation against U.S. troops, a wider regional conflict, skyrocketing oil prices, and restricted access to the Strait of Hormuz. Yet Trump has boxed himself in by vowing that Iran cannot be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. He now faces a difficult choice: diplomacy that verifiably ends Iran’s nuclear program or sending American bombers to destroy Fordow.
Regardless of what Trump decides, MAGA’s key players will find a rationale to justify it. Not necessarily because they agree with Trump, but because they must stay loyal to their cause and focus on their ultimate goal: retaining power and turning back the clock on our Republic.