Trump’s MAGA base defies conservative pro-Israel doctrine

Unconditional support for Israel has long been an entry requirement in American Republican politics, but that orthodoxy is being challenged by influencers in US President Donald Trump’s populist base — where invocations of the “special relationship” are falling on deaf ears.

Images of starvation and suffering in Gaza have given new impetus to a debate that has been simmering in Trump’s Make America Great Again, or MAGA, movement over whether US involvement in the Middle East is consistent with the president’s “America First” platform.

One sign of the change came in an X post from far-right firebrand congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who on Monday went further than any Republican lawmaker has previously in using the word “genocide” to describe Israel’s conduct, while also condemning the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack that started the war.

“It’s the most truthful and easiest thing to say that Oct 7th in Israel was horrific and all hostages must be returned, but so is the genocide, humanitarian crisis, and starvation happening in Gaza,” she posted.

Israel has always enjoyed broad bipartisan support in Congress but the rise of the MAGA movement, which has an isolationist bent, has challenged the ideological foundations of the “special relationship.” MAGA realpolitik seeks to limit US involvement in foreign wars to those that directly impact its interests, and in particular the “left behind” working class that makes up Trump’s base.

Pro-Trump think tank The Heritage Foundation in March called on Washington to “re-orient its relationship with Israel” from a special relationship “to an equal strategic partnership.”

And earlier this month, Greene, a leading MAGA voice in Washington, DC, proposed a measure to cancel $500 million in funding for Israel’s missile defense system. It failed by a vote of 422-6.

Last month, she was one of a group of MAGA influencers to vocally oppose the US joining Israel’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear program, along with former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

Another MAGA influencer, Candace Owens, has become a vocal critic of Israel while leaning into antisemitic rhetoric. Greene, too, has a record of conspiratorial social media posts, and has been accused of antisemitism in the past. Carlson, who now hosts a show on X, has repeatedly criticized US ties with Israel and has fielded his own accusations of antisemitism.

“You can only really pledge your loyalty to one person or one country,” Carlson said in a June speech to Turning Point USA, a conservative group. “Anybody, by the way, who serves in a foreign military should lose his citizenship immediately. There are a lot of Americans who’ve served in the IDF. They should lose their citizenship.”

In general, strong expressions of disapproval have been subdued by a sense that they are a betrayal of Republican thinking, according to some analysts — especially after the October 7 Hamas attacks. And the criticism may not be filtering down to Republican voters more broadly.

A recent poll by Gallup found that while most Democrats and independents oppose Israel’s military actions in Gaza, 71 percent of Republicans approve, with 78% likewise approving of the Israeli strikes on Iran. Two-thirds view Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu favorably.

At the same time, a new CNN poll found the share of Republicans who believe Israel’s actions have been fully justified has dropped from 68% in 2023 to 52%.

Youth seems to be the driver, according to a Pew Research poll from April. While Republicans over age 50 haven’t changed much in their pro-Israel outlook since 2022, the survey showed that the US ally’s unfavorability among younger adults has climbed from 35% to 50%.

“It seems that for the under-30-year-old MAGA base, Israel has almost no support,” Bannon told Politico.

The Nelk Boys, young pro-Trump podcasters, received backlash from their listeners after hosting Netanyahu earlier this month. In response, they hosted conversations with several influencers known for promoting anti-Israel and antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Netanyahu and Trump are thought to be largely aligned, though there, too, reports of severe malnutrition in Gaza appear to be causing friction. On Monday, the US president acknowledged that “real starvation” is happening in Gaza and vowed to set up food centers in the enclave.

Asked if he agreed with Netanyahu’s denials of the Gaza hunger crisis, Trump said, “Based on television, I would say not particularly, because those children look very hungry.”

Vice President JD Vance went further at an event in Ohio, discussing “heartbreaking” images of “little kids who are clearly starving to death” and demanding that Israel let in more aid.

Political scientist and former US diplomat Michael Montgomery thinks the tonal shift might in part be emotional — with TV images of starving children resonating more profoundly than the aftermath of airstrikes.

“Perhaps it is because no civilized people see starvation as a legitimate weapon of war,” the University of Michigan-Dearborn professor told AFP.

Democratic strategist Mike Nellis described the Gaza food emergency as “one of those rare moments where the crisis has broken through the usual partisan gridlock.”

“You’re seeing people across the political spectrum who just can’t stomach it anymore,” he told AFP.

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