“This is insane. Regime change will result in a bloody civil war, killing hundreds of thousands and creating another massive Muslim refugee crisis. Topping a leader is NEVER as easy you think. It almost always results in further involvement, a civil war, and chaos. Resist this!”
That was Charlie Kirk, speaking last summer and just a few months before his killing, in response to Lindsey Graham’s call for regime change in Iran. His protest reflected a sentiment pervasive among supporters of President Donald Trump, who campaigned on an end to foreign interventions that have cost the United States trillions of dollars and thousands of lives in this century alone: that Trump’s bellicosity is a betrayal of everything the MAGA movement stands for.
The United States and Israel attacked Iran early Saturday morning, launching a wave of major strikes across Tehran they said targeted senior Iranian officials. Trump, in a video address posted to Truth Social, accused Iran of “mass terror” and said the attacks would target Iran’s military and seek to topple the regime. Trump was explicit in calling the operation a war. “The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties—that often happens in war,” he said. “But we’re doing this not for now—we’re doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission.”
The death toll of the attacks is significant. More than 200 people are believed to have been killed in the strikes, according to the Iranian Red Crescent, a number that is certain to climb. The Pentagon announced Sunday that three US service members have also been killed, and five more have been seriously wounded. A strike on a girls’ elementary school in southern Iran killed at least 148 people and wounded 95 others, according to Iran state media. The New York Times reported that Iranian media believes that most of the dead are likely children.
Before the attack, Trump was spotted dancing to “God Bless the USA” at a gala being held at his resort on Friday night. Later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a photo of a phone call with Trump; on his desk was a map of the Middle East and Tim Bouverie’s book Allies at War, an account of how Winston Churchill worked to pull the United States into World War II. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump “monitored the situation overnight” at his Mar a Lago resort “alongside members of his national security team.”
The war is certain to widen a growing rift in Trump’s base over his military adventurism abroad. Tucker Carlson, one of Trump’s most prominent supporters, argued for his election in 2024 on the basis that his opponents would drag the United States into unnecessary wars. In comments to ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl, Carlson called the attacks on Iran “absolutely disgusting and evil” and said they would deal a blow to his movement. “This is going to shuffle the deck in a profound way,” Carlson said.
