Maga is divided on the question of whether the United States should join Israel in the conflict with Iran: NPR
In his inauguration speech, Trump said that his most proud heritage would be that of Peacemaker. Now, some of his supporters say he may betray this promise if the United States joins Israel in his battle with Iran.
Mary Louise Kelly, host:
President Trump campaigned to end long foreign wars. In his inauguration speech earlier this year, Trump said that his most proud heritage would be that of Peacemaker.
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President Donald Trump: We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars that we finish and, perhaps above all, the wars in which we never enter.
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Kelly: Well, now some of his most vocal supporters warn that Trump may betray these promises if the United States joins Israel in his battle with Iran. The correspondent for the White House NPR, Franco Ordoñez, covers the ditch inside Maga. He now joins me from the White House. Hey, Franco.
Franco Ordoñez, Holine: Hey, Mary Louise.
Kelly: I therefore want to note that the White House said today that Trump was pushing all action on Iran, that he will decide in the next two weeks. However, this did not dissipate criticism from the potential involvement of the United States. Who are these Maga figures who have become critical? What do they say?
Ordoñez: Yeah. I mean, two of the big names are Tucker Carlson, the former Talk-Show host, and Steve Bannon, who was chief of the White House at the start of the first Trump administration. Carlson in fact explained his position this week on the Podcast in Bannon, the “War Hall”.
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Tucker Carlson: My interest is really simple. I do not want the United States to be entangled in another war in the Middle East which does not serve our interests.
Ordoñez: Carlson also warned that the president’s inheritance was at stake, according to what will then happen. And then there is Bannon, which is called one of the biggest names in Maga – and it is really – which has also spoken in a very dramatic way. Here, he is in a breakfast yesterday organized by the Christian Science Monitor.
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Steve Bannon: We cannot start again. We will tear the country. We cannot have another Iraq.
Kelly: So strong warns there two supporters of Trump. How does the president react?
Ordoñez: Yeah. I mean, he was very defensive about these comments, especially Carlson. At the G7, Trump actually depreciated Carlson for losing his television program on Fox News, then called her Kooky Tucker Carlson. But he was actually more thoughtful when he was in a hurry concerning the United States in another long fight.
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Trump: Well, I don’t want to fight either. I’m not trying to fight. But if it is a choice between fights and having a nuclear weapon, you have to do what you need to do. Maybe we will not have to fight. Remember, we have not fought.
Ordoñez: You know, by announcing this two -week delay, the White House says that Trump follows his own instinct and that Carlson and Bannon’s position has not played a role. And I must also note that everyone in the world of Maga does not oppose American participation. People like Mark Levin of Fox News enthusiastically called to Trump to help Israel in the war. And people like Senator Lindsey Graham have traditionally taken a more impactful position on foreign policy.
Kelly: Speaking of more beautiful, Franco positions, all these speeches on the strike of Iran. I mean, you can hear the echoes of the Bellicic republican positions of the past. Does Trump align with traditional Republicans?
Ordoñez: I mean, you can really hear these echoes, and this is actually part of what I hear about the traditional republicans with whom I speak. Ryan Williams is a republican strategist with whom I spoke – he helped direct the presidential campaign of Mitt Romney – and he stressed that the change of regime in Iran was a long -standing objective for several republican administrations.
Ryan Williams: I think that a certain number of people in the Bush administration who, at the time, thought of means of solving this problem, with the military or other means, would be surprised today to note that the host of “The Celebrity Apprentice” is the one who could potentially eliminate Ayatollah.
Kelly: Very good. Some reflections there by Ryan Williams in our reports of Franco Ordoñez in the White House. Thank you, Franco.
Ordoñez: Thank you.
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