Source: Politics<\/p>\n
As Republicans battle over direct military engagement with Iran, prominent conservatives and allies of the president have emerged as forceful voices against intervening, lashing out at a host of political players \u2014 except for President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
Warring factions within the Republican Party have sought to pull Trump in opposing directions on how to deal with Iran. Isolationists are seeking to hold Trump to his repeated campaign promises to not involve the U.S. in another major Middle East war, while interventionists like Sen. Lindsey Graham have urged the president to go tougher on Iran \u2014 an approach that appears to be winning Trump’s favor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Even as Republicans have spoken up against engaging in a conflict with Iran, criticizing everyone from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Graham for their role in the unfolding conflict, few dared to directly attack the president over his approach.<\/p>\n \u201cTake screenshots of every single right winger who is shit talking Trump right now,\u201d conservative social media personality Laura Loomer wrote on X<\/a> on Monday, encouraging her followers to post the evidence in the replies. \u201cI have most of them. But I don\u2019t want to miss any.\u201d<\/p>\n Loomer specifically slammed \u201cgrifters\u201d for \u201cturning on President Trump\u201d in speaking out against possible military intervention in Iran.<\/p>\n Longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon cautioned against U.S. military involvement in Iran, warning at a Christian Science Monitor event<\/a> on Wednesday that \u201cwe can\u2019t have another Iraq.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Israelis have to finish what they started. They started this. They should finish it,\u201d he continued, criticizing Netanyahu for expecting the Trump administration to rush to his aid after launching an attack on Iran last week.<\/p>\n Still, many of Trump\u2019s backers have been vocal in their support of his approach to Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cPresident Trump is a President of peace, not of war,\u201d Freedom Caucus member Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) said on Tuesday<\/a>. \u201cI trust him and his Cabinet to put America First, and I\u2019m with him all the way.\u201d<\/p>\n The split within the party appeared to also motivate Vice President JD Vance \u2014 a veteran who historically sided with isolationists \u2014 to weigh in. In a 375-word post on X<\/a> Tuesday, Vance acknowledged the concerns over a long- drawn-out war but staunchly defended the president and potential actions against Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, people are right to be worried about foreign entanglement after the last 25 years of idiotic foreign policy,\u201d Vance said. \u201cBut I believe the president has earned some trust on this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump himself seems to be trying to balance the two sides. After initially shying away from directly supporting Israel\u2019s campaign against Iran, he indicated the U.S. is poised to assist with direct attacks, and is considering using American \u201cbunker buster\u201d bombs to target Iran\u2019s Fordow enrichment facility, which the Israeli military is not equipped to destroy alone.<\/p>\n The administration has stood firm on its position amid criticism from within the party.<\/p>\n \u201cPresident Trump has never wavered in his stance that Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon and repeated that promise to the American people since his victorious campaign. Americans trust President Trump to make the right decisions to keep them safe,\u201d White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said.<\/p>\n One of the few conservative figures willing to directly attack Trump is former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who last week accused the president of being \u201ccomplicit in the act of war\u201d after Israel launched missiles at Iran.<\/p>\n Carlson continued his broadsides against more hawkish GOP figures and tangled with Sen. Ted Cruz in an episode of Carlson\u2019s podcast<\/a> that aired Wednesday, attacking the senator for his seeming obliviousness to the nuances of the Iranian nation that he was encouraging action against.<\/p>\n Carlson\u2019s salvo against Trump elicited the president\u2019s ire, with Trump on Monday criticizing him as \u201ckooky\u201d on Truth Social<\/a>.<\/p>\n But Trump Wednesday seemed to suggest he and Carlson had smoothed things over.<\/p>\n \u201cTucker is a nice guy. He called and apologized the other day, because he thought he said things that were a little bit too strong, and I appreciated that,\u201d Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.<\/p>\n Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a staunch supporter of the president, also came close to direct criticism of the president when she came out in support of the former Fox News host.<\/p>\n \u201cHe unapologetically believes the same things I do,\u201d Greene wrote in a post on X. \u201cForeign wars\/intervention\/regime change put America last, kill innocent people, are making us broke, and will ultimately lead to our destruction. That\u2019s not kooky. That\u2019s what millions of Americans voted for.\u201d<\/p>\n