Let Israelis finish what they started, Steve Bannon tells Trump
Steve Bannon, host of the popular “War Room” podcast, said “the Israelis need to finish what they started” and that Trump should slow down deliberations over U.S. involvement and explain his decision-making.
“This is one of the most ancient civilizations in the world, okay, with 92 million people. This is not something you play around with. You have to think this through at this level, and the American people have to be on board. You can’t just dump this on them,” he said.
Other influential Make America Great Again (MAGA) voices with similar messages of worry include former Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson and U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican and long-time Trump ally.
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“Anyone slobbering for the U.S. to become fully involved in the Israel/Iran war is not America First/MAGA,” Greene said in a social media post on Sunday. “We are sick and tired of foreign wars. All of them.”
But another Trump ally, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said on Fox News on Tuesday that he hopes Trump will help Israel “finish the job” because Iran represents “an existential threat to our friends in Israel.”
The rift was on full display when Carlson, on his streaming program, clashed with Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas late on Tuesday.
A clip from Carlson’s interview with Cruz went viral with Carlson strongly criticizing the senator for seeking regime change in Iran, and Cruz expressing support for the president.
“You don’t know anything about Iran!” Carlson told Cruz.
“I am not the Tucker Carlson expert on Iran,” Cruz fired back.
“You’re a senator who’s calling for the overthrow of the government,” Carlson retorted.
Vice President JD Vance tried to tamp down talk of a rift on Monday with a social media post defending the president.
“People are right to be worried about foreign entanglement after the last 25 years of idiotic foreign policy. But I believe the president has earned some trust on this issue,” he said.
Now allies and opponents are waiting on Trump’s decision-making process. The president said on Wednesday afternoon he had some ideas on how to proceed but had not made a final decision.
