Some of Donald Trump’s supporters on the right are disappointed that the president does not think like they do.
People act according to what they believe and not necessarily according to reality. A buddy of mine and I went deep-sea fishing in Cape May, NJ just before our Harvard graduation. We finished up around 4 in the morning and planned to drive back to school later that day. As we slept, I felt a slap from my roommate as he said, “Al, get up! It’s 12:30.” We immediately raced to get dressed. As I looked at my watch, I saw that it was actually 6:00 in the morning. My tired friend had mixed up his minute and hour hands. But for those few moments we raced as if we were running super-late.
Donald Trump recently said that as the father of the latest version of “America First,” he could define what this movement means. The same could be said of MAGA; ten years ago he came down the escalator at Trump Tower with wife, Melania. The world has never been the same, and that’s good. Could Israel have undertaken such a complete attack on Iran under a Biden or Obama administration that would hold back weapons, jawbone about not doing too much, and secretly root for the mullahs? Not a chance.
The people on the right who are angry at the president’s position on Iran should not be called America First but rather America Only. These people live in some type of pickle jar where the only things that affect the United States start in California and end in Maine. They don’t want to accept that the actions of external actors can have an enormous impact on the safety and success of the US. Donald Trump recently chastised Tucker Carlson and asked that someone needs to explain to him that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. What the president is trying to tell his staunch supporter is that hating Israel is not justification for ignoring the fact that a nuclear Iran could destroy the United States. Iran does not need to send ballistic missiles from home to the east coast of America. No, it would be enough to bring very small weapons into the US via the border and then detonate those weapons within the United States. Iranian leaders believe that they have a theological obligation to destroy Israel—and the US. They have refused American companies entry into the country for fear of importing American culture. Having a nuclear weapon would help them destroy both of their major enemies; Trump gets it. Carlson does not.
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If you come to Israel, you can find many different approaches to Judaism. Some are based on levels of observance, while others come from location of origin. My wife’s family is Yemenite and as such they have customs, pronunciations, and approaches that differ from Jews from Morocco and Russia. The one thing I have found in my over 30 years in the Holy Land is that each group is absolutely certain that it has the right approach to Judaism and the others are mistaken. “The way we read the Torah is better than the way others read.” “Our Passover matzos are better than their matzos”. And the same is true for MAGA. There are different groups in MAGA, and each is absolutely certain that its approach to the US and the world is right. The America Only wing of MAGA continues the Charles Lindbergh America First Committee approach of keeping America out of world affairs. America’s entry into World War 2 led to over 500,000 GI deaths but also brought about the end of the fascist Axis powers and the Holocaust. There are times when keeping America safe means looking far beyond her shores. This is such a moment with Iran apparently on the cusp of getting the bomb. Trump Gets it. Carlson does not.
Donald Trump is extremely pragmatic in his approach to America First and MAGA. He recently suggested not throwing out illegal aliens in the hospitality and farming industries. The base was not happy about some illegal aliens being more equal than others; the White House changed back to all illegal aliens needing to go. I believe that if Iran had agreed to any deal offered by Donald Trump, the president would have browbeat Bibi Netanyahu not to attack. The president is far more pragmatic than ideological—and that drives the right-leaning ideological branch of the party nuts. I believe that ideologically rigid MAGA people don’t understand why the president is willing to entertain positions and ideas that would seem contrary to MAGA principles. Elon Musk sees fiscal responsibility as a core position of MAGA. Donald Trump does as well but he knows that he needs to pass a critical bill, and massive debt will be a part of it. I am sure that Donald Trump has succeeded in disappointing many supporters whose positions are not open to flexibility. One early supporter was furious during Trump’s first term that he did not keep his promise and finish the border wall; she has recently stated how thrilled she is with the current closure of the border and the serious effort to eject illegal aliens.
The MORE-MAGA-THAN-MAGA wing of the Republican Party wants Donald Trump to ignore 46 years of Death to America threats from Iran. They want to close their eyes and pretend that Iran really does not want a nuclear bomb when all of their actions say otherwise. They bellow that Donald Trump will lose his presidency if he gets involved in the Israel-Iran war. The problem with most of them is that they in the past were also far more pragmatic than they are today.
Donald Trump defines America First and MAGA as he sees them. Part of that process involves threats of tariff or military action followed up by a more gentle stance. Iran could never understand that Trump really meant that if they gave up on the bomb he would be their best friend. They felt like they were being played and now their air defenses are AK-47 rifles. Donald Trump is not the extremist that the left likes to portray (“No Kings” as if he acts like a king); but he is also not the ideological zealot that many of his most ardent supporters are. He is a businessman, and to make his fortune, he learned how to make deals. He is transactional and will take any step or follow any road that is good for America—even if it seems to fall outside of somebody’s MAGA definition. He was brilliant in getting Bobby Kennedy, Jr. on board, though they come from wildly different political approaches. Trump looks at the goal and then figures out the best way to get to it.
Iran was on its way to the bomb, and it would have used it against the U.S. in order to weaken the one country strong enough to contain its globalist, Islamist goals. The Qatar cheerleading squad is all sad that Trump acts in a way that protects the U.S.—and Israel. They are not MAGA; they are shills for Iran’s ideological partner, Qatar.
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