MAGA circles slam Trump for joining 'Israel's war' on Iran, but US leader retorts 'MAGA is Trump'

Washington DC — An influential anti-interventionist wing of prominent MAGA figures has erupted in anger over US strikes on Tehran, dismissing Republican arguments that Israeli bombardment of Iran had created threats requiring an American military response. The critics are denouncing the attacks as a betrayal of "America First" principles.

The vocal group, which includes the likes of prominent US broadcasters like Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson, and former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, alleges the Trump administration prioritised Israeli interests and broke promises of no new wars during the 2024 election campaign.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff briefed congressional leaders on Monday, two days after Israeli and US forces began attacking Iran.

Ahead of the briefing, Rubio told media that there was an imminent threat to the US because Washington knew that Israel planned to attack Iran and expected Iran to retaliate by attacking US forces.

"It was abundantly clear that if Iran came under attack by anyone, the United States or Israel or anyone, they were going to respond and respond against the United States,"  Rubio said.

"We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action, we knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties and perhaps even higher those killed."

Rubio added, "We were aware of Israeli intentions and understood what that would mean for us, and we had to be prepared to act as a result of it.  But this had to happen no matter what."

However, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi promptly seized on Rubio’s remarks, arguing that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio "admitted" that Washington initiated "a war of choice" against Tehran "on behalf of Israel."

The joint US-Israel attacks on Iran that started on Saturday showed no sign of abating as it entered its fourth day. The US-Israel strikes killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and 786 others, including scores of school girls on the first day of attacks.

Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile attacks targeting US-linked sites in Gulf countries, causing multiple fatalities. Six US service members have been killed and many others injured.

Speaking on Monday at the Pentagon, General Dan Caine emphasised that this was not a "single, overnight operation" and that more US losses should be expected.

US President Donald Trump hinted at future events, telling CNN's Jake Tapper a "big wave hasn’t even happened, the big one is coming soon," without elaborating.

'This is not what we thought MAGA was supposed to be'

Republican lawmakers claimed Israeli actions led to the "imminent threat" that forced the US to attack Iran.

"Because Israel was determined to act with or without the US, our commander in chief and the administration ... had a very difficult decision to make," House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters after the classified briefing.

"In my view, right now ... our military and the commander in chief, he is presiding over the completion of an operation that was limited in scope, limited in its objective, and absolutely necessary for our defense. I think that operation will be wound up quickly," Johnson said.

The Republicans’ remarks suggesting an Israeli decision to bomb Iran drew the US into the war has inflamed MAGA activists and commentators, who are saying US President Donald Trump betrayed his poll promises and accusing Israel of drawing reluctant Americans into a war with Iran.

Strongly opposing the US-Israel war on Iran, former Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene stated, "I did not campaign for this. I did not donate money for this. I did not vote for this... This is heartbreaking and tragic... This is not what we thought MAGA was supposed to be. Shame!"

She has repeatedly called it "AMERICA LAST" and a "stupid pointless foreign war for foreign regime change on behalf of Israel," dividing the nation between those wanting "wars for Israel" and those seeking peace.

She also criticised supporters of the war and blamed figures like JD Vance for escalating it.

Speaking on the Megyn Kelly Show, Greene said, "'Make America Great Again' was supposed to be America first, not Israel first, not any foreign country first, not any foreign people first, but the American people first."

"I've got serious doubts about what we are doing…" Kelly expressed on her show.

Tucker Carlson, a former top-rated Fox News host and long-time critic of foreign wars involving the US, used his podcast on Monday to criticise the Trump administration for getting sucked into a war "because Israel wanted it to happen."

"This is Israel's war. This is not the United States' war," Carlson stresses. "This war is not being waged on behalf of American national security objectives to make it safer or richer."

The MAGA fury comes after Trump administration officials acknowledged in closed-door briefings with congressional staff that there was no intelligence suggesting Iran planned to attack US forces first, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters news agency.

'Subjecting our foreign policy to Israeli foreign policy'

Another MAGA figure and GOP Representative Lauren Boebert did not weigh in on the attack, only writing on social media X that she is "praying for safety for our service members and wisdom for our leaders."

Boebert supports an America First foreign policy that avoids protracted foreign wars, having voted against US aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan in the past.

Erik Prince — a former Navy SEAL who founded notorious private military contractor Blackwater — offered a blunt assessment to conservative influencer Steve Bannon on Sunday.

"Look, Steve, I'm not happy about the whole thing," Prince said on Bannon's War Room podcast. "I don't think this was in America's interests. It's going to uncork a significant can of worms and chaos and destruction in Iran now."

Prince added: "I don't see how this is in keeping with the president's MAGA commitment. I'm disappointed."

Prince voiced his frustration regarding the US aligning its foreign policy with Israel's interests.

"Subjecting our foreign policy to Israeli foreign policy, I have a real issue with that," Prince told Bannon. "I've said it before. I said it weeks ago on your show. This should not be the path forward, and the president's chosen to do it. I just wonder who pressured him that much to do it this way."

MAGA influencer Matt Walsh also lashed out at Rubio for implying Israel forced the US hand, calling it "the worst possible thing he (Rubio) could have said."

"So far, we've heard that although we killed the whole Iranian regime, this was not a regime change war. And although we obliterated their nuclear program, we had to do this because of their nuclear programme," Walsh posted on social media on Monday.

"And although Iran was not planning any attacks on the US, they also might have been, depending on who you ask. And although we are not fighting this war to free the Iranian people, they are now free, or might be, depending on who seizes power, and we have no idea who that will be. The messaging on this thing is, to put it mildly, confused," concluded the Daily Wire host.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt immediately pushed back against Walsh's criticisms, defending the Operation Epic Fury against Iran as holding Tehran accountable for terrorism and threats to Americans.

Walsh's post, however, drew responses from figures like Republican Representative Thomas Massie, who defended his right to question the war on Iran without facing repercussions from his employer. 

"I hope you don't get fired for this, because it's true," Massie wrote on X.

The opposition from some MAGA quarters, meanwhile, prompted Trump to lash out at Carlson and Kelly, during an interview with the independent journalist Rachel Bade.

"I think that MAGA is Trump — MAGA’s not the other two (Carlson and Kelly)," Trump said, adding "she (Kelly) was critical of me for years and I didn’t lose. I won all three times by a lot."

On Tuesday, Trump, flanked by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office, appeared to steer away from Rubio's remarks, saying "I think they were going to attack first, and I didn't want that to happen. So, if anything, I might have forced Israel's hand."