Old bogeymen reunite MAGA after explosive Iran divide

by Tal Axelrod

A MAGA movement facing a historic rift over President Trump's Iran strikes is quickly stitching itself back together by turning its rage toward familiar enemies at home.

Why it matters: Trump's decision to strike three Iranian nuclear facilities last week — paired with fleeting talk of "regime change" — ignited some of the fiercest infighting within the "America First" base since the movement's inception a decade ago.

• After Trump touted the success of the U.S. operation, some MAGA figures called for retribution against those who had criticized him — whether for not going far enough or for launching the strikes at all.

• By mid-week, the divisions were fading.

Driving the news: A cascade of political flashpoints — each touching a MAGA "third rail" — quickly redirected the movement's fury away from its Iran fissures and toward longtime enemies.

• Media coverage of a leaked Pentagon assessment, which suggested the U.S. strikes only delayed Iran's nuclear program by only a few, triggered new MAGA attacks on the press for undermining Trump.

• Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani's victory in the primary for New York City mayor gave MAGA influencers a potent new foil: a Muslim, immigrant, left-wing candidate who they claim embodies the dangers of multiculturalism.

• Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough became a lightning rod after ruling that key GOP priorities had to be stripped from Trump's "One, Big, Beautiful Bill" — feeding MAGA's long-running resentment of "unelected bureaucrats."

• The Supreme Court issued three rulings that exhilarated MAGA: one clearing the way for states to strip funding for Planned Parenthood, a second allowing parents to opt their children out of LGBTQ-themed lessons at school, and a third limiting lower courts' ability to block Trump's policies nationwide.

The bottom line: The deep ideological fault lines over Iran remain unresolved, and could rear their head if tensions in the Middle East force Trump to again consider military intervention.

• But for now, a perfect blend of red meat is helping to distract, unify and re-energize a base that had briefly turned on itself.

• "Who gives a damn about Iran when a socialist sycophant is poised to take power and burn America's largest city to the ground?" said MAGA influencer CJ Pearson.