Operation Epic Fury has greatly diminished Iran’s offensive capabilities. Gone are many of its air defenses, missiles, drones, radars, planes, warships, bases, airfields, command-and-control centers, security headquarters, bunkers and hiding places—along with many leaders of the regime that has pledged “Death to America” since the shah fell in 1979.
Here at home, the U.S. and Israeli air assault has revealed a significant divide between MAGA voters and a small but influential group of MAGA media figures who claim to speak for them.
These podcasters, YouTubers and independent journalists have decided President Trump’s actions are a betrayal of MAGA. To them, he’s an unwitting tool of the Israelis or, as some on the neoisolationist right say, the Jews.
Tuesday’s resignation of Joe Kent as National Counterterrorism Center director will enthuse the blame-it-on-the-Jews chorus. Mr. Kent blamed the “pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby” and a “misinformation campaign” driven by the media and “Israeli officials” for President Trump’s decision to demolish the Iranian threat. He also said the Israelis used the same tactic to “draw us into the disastrous Iraq war.” (In reality, Israel was reluctant to see the U.S. go to war against Saddam Hussein’s regime.)
Much of the criticism of Operation Epic Fury comes from the likes of the Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, the Israel-obsessed podcasters Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly, and the conspiracist Candace Owens. Do voters who identify themselves as MAGA Republicans share their opinions? Do they feel betrayed by the president?
The answer is an unequivocal no, according to a survey from the Vandenberg Coalition, a nonpartisan group committed to the idea that “the national security, prosperity, and freedom of the United States require a strong and proud foreign policy.”
The poll was conducted March 3-5 among 1,232 self-described Trump voters. News had already broken of the first American casualties, so those polled could have realized the operation would have terrible costs. Of the sample, roughly 34% are self-identified MAGA/Trump conservatives, 30% moderate Republicans, 24% traditional conservatives, 5% libertarians and 7% other.
The survey first asked about approval of Mr. Trump’s “decision to authorize military action against Iran” for the goals of “(1) preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, (2) destroying Iran’s missile arsenal and production sites, (3) degrading Iran’s terrorist proxy networks and (4) annihilating the Iranian naval threat.”
Approval was 84% among all respondents. It was 94% among MAGA conservatives, 84% among traditional conservatives, 80% among moderates and 74% among libertarians.
The poll asked if Trump voters felt that eliminating “nearly 50 of Iran’s terrorist leaders, many of whom are responsible for American deaths in the past” had made the U.S. safer or less safe. Respondents broke 69% safer to 16% less safe. Among MAGA conservatives 83% said safer, among traditional conservatives 68%, moderate Republicans 66% and libertarians 50%.
The other questions yielded similar results: 85% of Trump voters said it was important “Iran does not obtain a nuclear bomb,” 84% backed the “U.S.-Israel military partnership,” and 80% agreed the president’s “use of force against Iran will help deter future attacks from our adversaries.” In each question, MAGA conservatives were the most supportive of Mr. Trump’s position.
The president bears some responsibility for the betrayal that some far-right media figures feel. He promised time and again to end wars, not start them. Long before running, Mr. Trump torched then-President Barack Obama for even considering military action against Iran.
