Members of Donald Trump’s MAGA base rushed to embrace the president following his announcement that he ordered strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities – while a House Republican came forward to call it unlawful.
‘This is not Constitutional,’ wrote Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who Trump has called to be thrown out of office over his opposition to his ‘big, beautiful bill’ for adding to the nation’s accumulated debt.
Last week, Massie was among those pushing for Congress to act before the president engaged the U.S. in a military conflict, with plans to introduce a resolution under the War Powers Act.
‘This is not our war. But if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our constitution,’ he wrote last week.
Prominent conservatives broadcast their support for the operation in the immediate minutes after Trump announced a ‘very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan’ – with some heaping personal praise on the nation’s leader.
‘Our commander-in-chief has made a deliberate —and correct— decision to eliminate the existential threat posed by the Iranian regime,’ wrote Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).
‘We now have very serious choices ahead to provide security for our citizens and our allies and stability for the middle-east. Well-done to our military personnel. You’re the best!’ he added.
Conservative commentator Scott Jennings, a former advisor to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who found himself in Israel when Israel unleashed its attack on Iran, posted: ‘The Commander-in-Chief made a righteous decision. Well done, sir.’
‘I commend President Trump for taking decisive action and I am grateful to the U.S. service members who carried out these precise and successful strikes,’ wrote House Intelligence Chair Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.). ‘I continue to pray for the safety of the forces engaged to protect the free world.’
Trump’s comments that he might involve the U.S. military in the conflict his online statement on the capability to hit Iran’s Supreme Leader exposed a split among Trump’s MAGA base.
Trump made ‘America first’ a key plank of both of his campaigns – and stated explicitly that many of the U.S. foreign engagements in the Middle East a waste of American blood and treasure. He has called the second Iraq war ‘stupid.’
Other Republicans cheered the strike, in a party that has embraced Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s warnings about the Iran nuclear threat.
‘More like Fordone,’ wrote Steve Guest, a GOP operative who previously worked for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
The reaction came after the U.S. bombed three nuclear sites in Iran in a risky move that could spark a wider regional conflict.
President Donald Trump was his own cheerleader, calling it ‘very successful attack’ on the key Fordow bunker buried deep underneath a mountain, along with the Natanz and Esfahan sites.
He said American planes had dropped a ‘full payload of bombs’ and had now left Iranian airspace.
‘We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,’ Trump declared in a post on social media.
‘All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home.’
Trump added in a later post that he would address the national at 10:00 pm eastern time, writing this was a ‘historic moment’ for the United States.
Trump did not specifically say the U.S. had dropped one of its ‘bunker buster’ munitions capable of burrowing deep underground to reach the concealed site.
The president said B-2 stealth bombers were used but did not specify which types of bombs were dropped.
The decision to directly involve the US comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country’s air defenses and nuclear program.
Also offering support was House Speaker Mike Johnson, whose statement called Trump ‘consistent’ despite the president spending weeks pushing diplomatic talks, only to switch to openly contemplating military action and being accused by the Iranians of deception. (Iran has itself long denied a nuclear weapons program even while building concealed nuclear enrichment facilities).
‘The President gave Iran’s leader every opportunity to make a deal, but Iran refused to commit to a nuclear disarmament agreement,’ said Johnson. ‘President Trump has been consistent and clear that a nuclear-armed Iran will not be tolerated. That posture has now been enforced with strength, precision, and clarity.’
One new Senate Republican, Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania, called the attack ‘targeted’ and applauded Trump’s ‘commitment to peace.’
‘This targeted attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities is the result of the Iranian regime’s failure to make a deal despite months of President Trump’s good faith efforts to negotiate,’ he said in a statement.
Democratic Rep. Sean Casten (Ill.) echoed Massie’s statement on the congressional role, while throwing in a potential impeachment threat.
‘This is not about the merits of Iran’s nuclear program. No president has the authority to bomb another country that does not pose an imminent threat to the US without the approval of Congress. This is an unambiguous impeachable offense.’
Wrote Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.): ‘The President’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers. He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations. It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.’
