'Breakdown': GOP 'despair' as conservatives say 'MAGA civil war' is in full swing

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during a press conference at a NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025. REUTERS Yves Herman

As analysts sort through the fallout of President Donald Trump’s disastrous war with Iran, it is becoming clear that the conflict has sparked a genuine “MAGA civil war.” This is according to W. James Antle III, Executive Editor at the highly conservative news outlet the Washington Examiner, who on Tuesday wrote about how Trump’s military escapades have divided Republicans.

According to Antle, “Polls taken after the war began showed Republicans and self-described MAGA supporters largely backing Trump, even as his media allies fractured between those who endorsed his hard line against Iran and others who wanted to hold him to his campaign promise to avoid new foreign wars. Some Trump-friendly media voices, such as Tucker Carlson, became estranged from him over the decision to go to war in the first place. Others, such as Mark Levin, are now disenchanted with Trump’s decision to try to end the war by talking to the government of Iran.”

But by in large, says Antle, Trump was — at least at first — relatively successful at keeping his coalition together, maintaining Republican support by offering “ a little something to various camps of supporters with a wide variety of foreign-policy views, ranging from the possibility of regime change in Iran to repeated assurances this wouldn’t be a forever war. Trump would say that the war was already basically won, seemingly ready to declare victory and come home, but then would indicate he was willing to escalate, followed by promises of a deal that Iran was especially desperate to make, not himself.”

Eventually, however, Trump would be forced to pick a lane, and in doing so, Antle says he was always likely to alienate some part of his base. The result turned out to be extremely divisive, fueling an all-out “MAGA civil war” that divided conservatives and placed most in opposition to Trump.

“The breakdown among self-described conservatives was that the war ‘should end now,’ compared to 39 percent who preferred to ‘continue the conflict until Iran gives up more,’” Antle explained. “Among Republicans, 60 percent said end now, 40 percent wanted it to continue until Iran gave up more. That is a real division, though it’s also worth noting that large majorities of conservatives and Republicans agreed with the overall supermajority — 78 percent of all respondents — that the war should end now.”

And as Antle notes, Trump also faces opposition from Senate Republicans, many of whom have expressed “deep skepticism” toward various points in his peace agreement. As one told the Hill, “there is a high level of dismay” over a peace plan that would drop sanctions and enrich Iran, all while leaving the nuclear question unanswered.

According to Antle, whether congressional Republicans come around on the deal may hinge on whether the GOP base continues to trust Trump on the matter. But he warns that a “split among rank-and-file Republican voters could embolden GOP lawmakers to stick to their own positions on the Iran talks, with many of them extremely wary of negotiating with the Iranian regime.” As the numbers suggest that trust is lacking, however, Trump appears to have an uphill battle.

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