President Donald Trump seems to have broad polling support among Republicans for the escalating war against Iran, despite the vocal outcry of some prominent MAGA figures against the war. But that support may be a lot more fragile than it seems, former GOP strategist Tim Miller told MS NOW's Alicia Menendez on Monday's edition of "Deadline: White House."
"I think it is interesting ... that the people who are calling out the absurdity, the recklessness of what they're doing, are people ... who in many other ways [are] in lockstep with this administration," said Menendez, bringing up as examples Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and Nancy Mace (R-SC). "I wonder what you make as a sort of student of the MAGA movement and who chooses when to be in alignment and when about the specific fractures, we are seeing in this moment."
"Yeah, a couple thoughts, Alicia," said Miller, a frequent critic of the administration. "I mean one, just go back to the last question you asked about whether they're kind of bragging out, the poll of MAGA Americans and what they think about Trump's war."
For all that bravado, Miller continued, "I think the actions of theMAGA politicians betraythat they know what thereality is with the voters."
To wit, he said, "Ithink that there are a lot ofpeople out therewhoself-identify as MAGA, whowant to support Trump, whowant to say that they're onthe team, and if a strangercalls him on the phone, andthey're going to say thatthey back Trump becausethey don't want to feel likethey've betrayed their teamor whatever."
However "cultish" that might be, he said, it's likely what many Trump supporters are doing.
"I think that a lot of them are saying other things when they're talking to their members of Congress, when they are commenting on their members of Congress' social media posts, when they're watching MAGA media," said Miller. The overwhelming discourse in that space, he said, is being driven by figures like Tucker Carlson, Joe Rogan, and Megyn Kelly, all of whom oppose the war.
"Those people — they're somewhere," he added. "It's not, it's not all Democrats listening to that, right? Like, the people are tuning into that because they're that message is resonating. So I dothink that MAGA voters aresouring over this."