US President Donald Trump is facing mounting criticism from his “Make America Great Again” supporters over the US and Israel’s decision to start a war with Iran. The backlash appears to stem from the reversal of his promise to keep the US out of “forever wars,” as concerns grow about prolonged conflict and unclear mission objectives. A core element of Trump’s presidential campaigns was his condemnation of the US’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, describing the former as a “disaster.” In 2012 and 2013, Trump repeatedly insinuated that then-President Barack Obama would wage a war with Iran, which he did not, to divert attention from his supposed leadership flaws. MAGA backlash comes amid rising energy prices and casualties in the Middle East as the war, which has thus far killed 6 US servicemen, rages on. On Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, longtime Trump supporter Erik Prince voiced his dissent with Trump’s actions, saying that they do not align with his “MAGA commitment.” “I’m not happy about the whole thing. I don’t think this was in America’s interests. It’s gonna uncork a significant can of worms and chaos, and destruction in Iran now,” Prince said. Trump, however, appeared to dismiss his allies’ concerns, telling journalist Rachael Bade that “MAGA loves what I’m doing — every aspect of it.” He characterized the intervention in Iran as “a detour that we have to take in order to keep our country safe and other countries safe.”
For Trump, some of the sharpest criticism he's faced in the early days of the Iran war has come from once-loyal media figures far more accustomed to singing his praises.
