MAGA isolationists who want to keep President Donald Trump's administration out of the conflict between Israel and Iran appear to be losing that battle, and that could cause the party's base to split, the Wall Street Journal's editorial board warned Thursday.
The op-ed was published as Trump continues to debate whether to strike Iran's nuclear facilities. The president said Thursday that he will make his decision within the next two weeks, a popular refrain that some critics suggest means Trump is skeptical of the advice his advisors are giving.
"The press is full of reporting on the 'MAGA civil war' over Iran, but what’s notable is that the loudest isolationists appear to be losing the debate," the editorial board wrote. "It’s worth considering how they’ve misread the historical moment, the views of most Republicans, and above all President Trump."
The editorial board argues that isolationists within the MAGA party appear to be so "traumatized" from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that they would let the "revolutionary regime" like Iran's theocratic leadership develop a nuclear weapon.
Those skeptics include some of the most influential people in the MAGA media ecosystem, like Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson, both of whom do not support the United States entering the Israel-Iran conflict.
Those sentiments contradict public polling that shows MAGA Republicans support bombing Iran by a 3-to-1 margin, the editorial board argues.
"The U.S. wouldn’t be starting a war but trying to finish it sooner by neutralizing a nuclear threat from a regime that chants “death to America,'" the editorial board wrote.