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Welcome back to False Flag! Less than seventy-two hours into Donald Trump’s new war with Iran, the pundits and podcast hosts who make up his base of support are revolting.
That’s a problem for Trump, since these disaffected pro-Trump personalities can sway his most dedicated fans, many of whom are already wary of another military quagmire in the Middle East.
This very issue was the focus of a blowout “MAGA Monday” livestream from Sam Stein and me this morning. Tune in next Monday at 10 a.m. EDT to catch our next episode live! In the meantime, subscribe to The Bulwark, where we give you the full scope of the MAGA id, so you don’t have to find out through your own immersive research:
–Will
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DESPITE HIS PRESIDENTIAL campaign promises to put America first, Donald Trump didn’t seem to upset his media allies too much when he bombed Iran last June, or when he sent Delta Force to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January.
But those engagements were limited, free of American fatalities, and didn’t appear to produce much in the way of immediate consequences for Trump or the country. Even white nationalist Nick Fuentes became an old-school Monroe Doctrine imperialist.
Trump’s latest attacks on Iran this weekend, however, have given rise to a much more negative reaction in right-wing media.
After a quick flurry of support for the initial strikes (with even some self-professed America-firsters reversing themselves and supporting the attacks), the mood became much more dour.
Megyn Kelly, on her Monday show, said she had “serious doubts” about what the White House was doing in Iran. Appearing on Kelly’s show, former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene suggested Trump has gone insane—adding that Trump’s oft-repeated statement about not knowing if he’ll get into heaven raises questions about his state of mind and competency.
“We need to have a serious conversation about what the fuck is happening to this country, and who in the hell are these decisions being made for, and who is making these decisions,” Greene said.
Recent White House visitor Tucker Carlson, arguably the most outspoken war opponent still in Trump circles, announced on his show Monday that Trump had been duped into the war by Israel.
“This happened because Israel wanted it to happen,” Carlson said in a video Monday slamming the attacks. “This is Israel’s war.”
Curiously, Carlson barely mentioned Trump by name in his video, perhaps hoping to preserve his relationship with the administration. After Trump alluded to reported Iranian attempts to kill him, Carlson wondered whether Israel had faked that intelligence to draw Trump into an attack.
“Maybe it doesn’t show that, because this country has certainly been manipulated a lot by Israeli intelligence—and other foreign countries’ intelligence, but certainly by Israeli intelligence,” Carlson said.
Carlson wasn’t alone on the right in speculating about—or outright leveling accusations about—whether Trump went to war for Israel. And amid the recriminations, Secretary of State Marco Rubio decided to confirm exactly that, saying on Monday afternoon that the United States attacked because an impending Israeli strike on Iran would have precipitated Iranian attacks on American bases. This was met with groans by right-wing pundits.
“So we are at war for Israel,” wrote the Hodge Twins, a pair of twin brothers who are popular MAGA influencers. “Thanks for confirming.”
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FOR SOME RIGHT-WING CRITICS of the operation in Iran, such as Carlson, their skepticism is in keeping with longstanding opposition to military adven