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| Trump’s Iran gambit reveals ideological rift between hawks and isolationists in his base | Trump’s Iran gambit reveals ideological rift between hawks and isolationists in his base |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| President Trump’s internal debate between his get-tough instincts and his aversion to foreign military entanglements is being replicated among his political base, as the president’s supporters spar over the appropriate response to tensions with Iran. | President Trump’s internal debate between his get-tough instincts and his aversion to foreign military entanglements is being replicated among his political base, as the president’s supporters spar over the appropriate response to tensions with Iran. |
| Trump, who campaigned on getting the United States out of wars in the Middle East, is caught between supporters who want to hold him to that promise and others who want him to make good on his bellicose threats of unparalleled strength and military might. | Trump, who campaigned on getting the United States out of wars in the Middle East, is caught between supporters who want to hold him to that promise and others who want him to make good on his bellicose threats of unparalleled strength and military might. |
| While Trump made overtures to both groups during remarks at the White House on Wednesday, he appeared to revert to his more dovish instincts as he indicated he would not take an escalatory approach toward Tehran after it launched missile attacks hours earlier at two U.S. bases in Iraq following the killing of a top Iranian general last week. | While Trump made overtures to both groups during remarks at the White House on Wednesday, he appeared to revert to his more dovish instincts as he indicated he would not take an escalatory approach toward Tehran after it launched missile attacks hours earlier at two U.S. bases in Iraq following the killing of a top Iranian general last week. |
| “Our missiles are big, powerful, accurate, lethal and fast,” he said. “The fact that we have this great military and equipment, however, does not mean we have to use it. We do not want to use it.” | “Our missiles are big, powerful, accurate, lethal and fast,” he said. “The fact that we have this great military and equipment, however, does not mean we have to use it. We do not want to use it.” |
| Trump said that he would impose new economic sanctions on Iran, while also leaving the door open to new negotiations with the Iranian regime. | Trump said that he would impose new economic sanctions on Iran, while also leaving the door open to new negotiations with the Iranian regime. |
| Stephen K. Bannon, who served as Trump’s chief strategist in 2017, said the two opposing camps of Trump supporters are reflected nightly by Fox News’s opinion hosts Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity. | Stephen K. Bannon, who served as Trump’s chief strategist in 2017, said the two opposing camps of Trump supporters are reflected nightly by Fox News’s opinion hosts Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity. |
| The latest on the tensions between the United States and Iran | The latest on the tensions between the United States and Iran |
| “The dichotomy is coming between the 8 and 9 o’clock hour on Fox,” Bannon said Tuesday on the “War Room: Impeachment” podcast, referring to the time slots for shows hosted by Carlson and Hannity. | “The dichotomy is coming between the 8 and 9 o’clock hour on Fox,” Bannon said Tuesday on the “War Room: Impeachment” podcast, referring to the time slots for shows hosted by Carlson and Hannity. |
| Carlson has been a leading voice for conservatives who have been skeptical of the increasing tensions in the Middle East, questioning the wisdom behind a Trump-ordered drone strike killing a top Iranian commander, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, last week. | Carlson has been a leading voice for conservatives who have been skeptical of the increasing tensions in the Middle East, questioning the wisdom behind a Trump-ordered drone strike killing a top Iranian commander, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, last week. |
| “Is Iran really the greatest threat we face, and who’s actually benefiting from this, and why are we continuing to ignore the decline of our own country in favor of jumping into another quagmire from which there is no obvious exit?” Carlson asked on his show Friday. | |
| Hannity, for his part, has used his platform to praise Trump’s decision to order a strike on Soleimani and to root for a muscular military response to Iran’s aggression. | Hannity, for his part, has used his platform to praise Trump’s decision to order a strike on Soleimani and to root for a muscular military response to Iran’s aggression. |
| “Their hostility will now be met with the full force of the greatest, most advanced, most sophisticated military this world has ever seen,” he said Tuesday. | “Their hostility will now be met with the full force of the greatest, most advanced, most sophisticated military this world has ever seen,” he said Tuesday. |
| Among Trump’s most fervent supporters, few issues have incited internecine squabbles like the use of military force in the Middle East. | Among Trump’s most fervent supporters, few issues have incited internecine squabbles like the use of military force in the Middle East. |
| Trump has fanned the debate by vacillating between hawkish and more-isolationist positions, while conferring with representatives from both camps. Trump regularly plays golf with Sens. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who have sharply opposing views on foreign policy. Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton has long called for the U.S. government to pursue regime change in Iran, something the president specifically said he was not pursuing with the strike on Soleimani. | |
| But the hawkish voices around Trump have had some impact on the president as he’s weighed critical decisions about military force. | But the hawkish voices around Trump have had some impact on the president as he’s weighed critical decisions about military force. |
| When Trump announced a plan to send thousands of additional troops into Afghanistan in 2017, he said he was going against his “original instinct” to pull out. | When Trump announced a plan to send thousands of additional troops into Afghanistan in 2017, he said he was going against his “original instinct” to pull out. |
| “Historically, I like following my instincts,” he said at the time. “But all my life, I’ve heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the Oval Office.” | “Historically, I like following my instincts,” he said at the time. “But all my life, I’ve heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the Oval Office.” |
| Since then, both groups of Trump’s supporters have seized on the president’s ambivalent approach to national security to cast themselves as the true representatives of his core instincts. | Since then, both groups of Trump’s supporters have seized on the president’s ambivalent approach to national security to cast themselves as the true representatives of his core instincts. |
| On Wednesday, Paul said that he had spoken with Trump and was reassured that he and the president were on the same page. | On Wednesday, Paul said that he had spoken with Trump and was reassured that he and the president were on the same page. |
| “The president shares my thoughts that the last thing we need is another ground war,” Paul wrote on Twitter. “He doesn’t want endless wars. I continue to hope for de-escalation and diplomacy.” | “The president shares my thoughts that the last thing we need is another ground war,” Paul wrote on Twitter. “He doesn’t want endless wars. I continue to hope for de-escalation and diplomacy.” |
| U.S. officials knew Iranian missiles were coming hours in advance | U.S. officials knew Iranian missiles were coming hours in advance |
| While the intraparty debate has flared up before — including after Trump said he would abruptly pull troops from Syria — it has taken on increasing fervor as tensions in the Middle East brought the United States to the brink of direct military conflict with Iran. | |
| The battle between Trump’s isolationist impulses and the more traditional approach of his national security team has led to confusion about what the president believes and aggressive attempts to sway those beliefs with direct appeals, said Leon Panetta, who served as defense secretary and CIA director during the Obama administration. | |
| “The president makes decisions pretty much on the basis of who’s briefing him at that moment and what his gut reactions are,” he said. | “The president makes decisions pretty much on the basis of who’s briefing him at that moment and what his gut reactions are,” he said. |
| Charlie Kirk, a fervent promoter of the president, took to Twitter on Tuesday night to express his support for Trump but also his concern about the potential for military conflict with Iran. | Charlie Kirk, a fervent promoter of the president, took to Twitter on Tuesday night to express his support for Trump but also his concern about the potential for military conflict with Iran. |
| “I am very worried we are about to get into another winless war in the Middle East where we have already lost so much,” he said. “I know @realDonaldTrump will continue to do the right thing to end the endless wars & bring our troops away from the region of sand and death We are with Trump!” | “I am very worried we are about to get into another winless war in the Middle East where we have already lost so much,” he said. “I know @realDonaldTrump will continue to do the right thing to end the endless wars & bring our troops away from the region of sand and death We are with Trump!” |
| He posted a video clip of Trump’s 2019 State of the Union address in which the president declared that “great nations do not fight endless wars.” | |
| Speaking on Fox Business Network on Tuesday, former White House aide Sebastian Gorka expressed confidence that Trump’s instincts would lead him to “unleash holy hell” on the Iranian regime. | Speaking on Fox Business Network on Tuesday, former White House aide Sebastian Gorka expressed confidence that Trump’s instincts would lead him to “unleash holy hell” on the Iranian regime. |
| “There will be retaliation, and it will be disproportionate,” he said. “This president will cripple, cripple to the ground the regime in Iran.” | |
| Trump ally Geraldo Rivera said Tuesday that his appearance on Hannity’s television show had been canceled after he publicly called for the president to show restraint and not “make mistakes you once criticized.” | |
| Speaking on CNN on Monday, Paul said Trump had been given “bad advice” on striking Soleimani. | Speaking on CNN on Monday, Paul said Trump had been given “bad advice” on striking Soleimani. |
| Trump has added to the confusion, threatening to attack Iranian cultural sites and boasting about the United States’ capabilities in recent days. He specifically threatened to respond with overwhelming and disproportionate force if Iran targeted any U.S. military bases. | |
| “If Iran attacks an American Base, or any American, we will be sending some of that brand new beautiful equipment their way . . . and without hesitation,” Trump said Sunday on Twitter. | |
| But Wednesday, after Iran did just that, Trump publicly seized on the fact that no Americans were harmed in the attack and cast the Iranian strike as a capitulation. | |
| “Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing,” he said, before saying that he was open to talks with Iran. | “Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing,” he said, before saying that he was open to talks with Iran. |
| Trump also said he would be talking to NATO about getting more involved in the Middle East, claiming that the United States’ “energy independence” had made it less reliant on oil from the volatile region. | |
| Trump appeared to be accepting an olive branch from Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who said on Twitter after the strikes that Iran did “not seek escalation or war.” | |
| Flanked by his national security team Wednesday, Trump responded by speaking directly “to the people and leaders of Iran” from a podium at the White House. | |
| “We want you to have a future and a great future — one that you deserve,” he said. “The United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it.” |