US strike threat against Iran exposes deep Maga rift for Trump
Maga supporters fear US involvement in a new Middle East war, but Trump says his backers ‘are more in love with me today’
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Trump says US ‘may’ or ‘may not’ strike Iran as Tehran rejects call to surrender
The prospect of a US strike against Iran has exposed divisions in the coalition of supporters that brought US President Donald Trump to power, with some of his base urging him not to get the country involved in a new Middle East war.
Some of Trump’s most prominent Republican allies, including top lieutenant Steve Bannon, have found themselves in the unusual position of being at odds with a president who largely shares their isolationist tendencies.
Bannon, one of many influential voices from Trump’s “America First” coalition, on Wednesday urged caution about the US military joining Israel in trying to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme in the absence of a diplomatic deal.
“We can’t do this again,” Bannon told reporters at an event sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor in Washington. “We’ll tear the country apart. We can’t have another Iraq.”
Bannon continued to preach patience on his popular podcast on Thursday, contending that Trump was being set up to be responsible for toppling the Iranian regime. He was joined by Jack Posobiec, another prominent Maga figure.