Israel First? MAGA divide erupts over allegations Netanyahu pushed US into Iran conflict
Is this competence or optics?
President Donald Trump’s administration is on the defensive, not only from Iranian strikes in the Middle East but also from incoming criticism from members of his own base.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio‘s concession on Monday that the U.S. started proactively striking Iran in the early hours of Saturday morning because Trump was concerned Israel was poised to provoke reprisal attacks from Tehran against the U.S. has rankled some of the president’s own supporters.
Trump supporter dissatisfaction appears to have manifested in two parts. First, because the president repeatedly campaigned on ending so-called forever wars, and this conflict risks becoming a protracted conflagration; and secondly, because of increasing skepticism of Israel, with some instances of anti-semitism.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, the president’s original nominee to become attorney general, criticized the optics of the U.S. being pressured to take action against Iran because of Israel in response to a video of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) parroting Rubio’s comments.
“In making these statements, which are undeniably true, America looks like such a supplicant,” Gaetz wrote on social media.
In making these statements, which are undeniably true, America looks like such a supplicant.
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) March 3, 2026
More generally, former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump supporter who has disagreed with the president over his administration’s disclosure of the federal government’s files on Jeffrey Epstein, among other troubles, has scrutinized the strikes for resulting in a country “no longer … divided by left and right.”
“We are now a nation divided [by] those who want to fight wars for Israel and those who just want peace and to be able to afford their bills and health insurance,” Greene wrote on X.
And just like that we are no longer a nation divided by left and right, we are now a nation divided be those who want to fight wars for Israel and those who just want peace and to be able to afford their bills and health insurance.
— Marjorie Taylor Greene (@mtgreenee) March 2, 2026
The likes of conservative commentator Megyn Kelly and Blackwater founder Erik Prince have amplified Gaetz and Greene’s comments with their own.
Fewer than 24 hours later, Trump, during his first press conference since the start of the strikes, appeared mindful of the optics, contending instead that he “forced” Israel’s metaphorical “hand.”
Trump then …
Is this competence or optics?
President Donald Trump’s administration is on the defensive, not only from Iranian strikes in the Middle East but also from incoming criticism from members of his own base.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio‘s concession on Monday that the U.S. started proactively striking Iran in the early hours of Saturday morning because Trump was concerned Israel was poised to provoke reprisal attacks from Tehran against the U.S. has rankled some of the president’s own supporters.
Trump supporter dissatisfaction appears to have manifested in two parts. First, because the president repeatedly campaigned on ending so-called forever wars, and this conflict risks becoming a protracted conflagration; and secondly, because of increasing skepticism of Israel, with some instances of anti-semitism.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, the president’s original nominee to become attorney general, criticized the optics of the U.S. being pressured to take action against Iran because of Israel in response to a video of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) parroting Rubio’s comments.
“In making these statements, which are undeniably true, America looks like such a supplicant,” Gaetz wrote on social media.
In making these statements, which are undeniably true, America looks like such a supplicant.
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) March 3, 2026
More generally, former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump supporter who has disagreed with the president over his administration’s disclosure of the federal government’s files on Jeffrey Epstein, among other troubles, has scrutinized the strikes for resulting in a country “no longer … divided by left and right.”
“We are now a nation divided [by] those who want to fight wars for Israel and those who just want peace and to be able to afford their bills and health insurance,” Greene wrote on X.
And just like that we are no longer a nation divided by left and right, we are now a nation divided be those who want to fight wars for Israel and those who just want peace and to be able to afford their bills and health insurance.
— Marjorie Taylor Greene (@mtgreenee) March 2, 2026
The likes of conservative commentator Megyn Kelly and Blackwater founder Erik Prince have amplified Gaetz and Greene’s comments with their own.
Fewer than 24 hours later, Trump, during his first press conference since the start of the strikes, appeared mindful of the optics, contending instead that he “forced” Israel’s metaphorical “hand.”
Trump then …
Israel First? MAGA divide erupts over allegations Netanyahu pushed US into Iran conflict
Is this competence or optics?
President Donald Trump’s administration is on the defensive, not only from Iranian strikes in the Middle East but also from incoming criticism from members of his own base.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio‘s concession on Monday that the U.S. started proactively striking Iran in the early hours of Saturday morning because Trump was concerned Israel was poised to provoke reprisal attacks from Tehran against the U.S. has rankled some of the president’s own supporters.
Trump supporter dissatisfaction appears to have manifested in two parts. First, because the president repeatedly campaigned on ending so-called forever wars, and this conflict risks becoming a protracted conflagration; and secondly, because of increasing skepticism of Israel, with some instances of anti-semitism.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, the president’s original nominee to become attorney general, criticized the optics of the U.S. being pressured to take action against Iran because of Israel in response to a video of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) parroting Rubio’s comments.
“In making these statements, which are undeniably true, America looks like such a supplicant,” Gaetz wrote on social media.
In making these statements, which are undeniably true, America looks like such a supplicant.
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) March 3, 2026
More generally, former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump supporter who has disagreed with the president over his administration’s disclosure of the federal government’s files on Jeffrey Epstein, among other troubles, has scrutinized the strikes for resulting in a country “no longer … divided by left and right.”
“We are now a nation divided [by] those who want to fight wars for Israel and those who just want peace and to be able to afford their bills and health insurance,” Greene wrote on X.
And just like that we are no longer a nation divided by left and right, we are now a nation divided be those who want to fight wars for Israel and those who just want peace and to be able to afford their bills and health insurance.
— Marjorie Taylor Greene (@mtgreenee) March 2, 2026
The likes of conservative commentator Megyn Kelly and Blackwater founder Erik Prince have amplified Gaetz and Greene’s comments with their own.
Fewer than 24 hours later, Trump, during his first press conference since the start of the strikes, appeared mindful of the optics, contending instead that he “forced” Israel’s metaphorical “hand.”
Trump then …
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