President Trump’s decision to float the possibility of regime change in Iran following a number of U.S. strikes on its nuclear facilities has caused a new rupture across the MAGA universe, as top supporters fret about the possibility of a deeper U.S. involvement in a Middle Eastern war.
Trump surprised some supporters by authorizing weekend strikes against three nuclear sites in Iran, but he and his team seemed to signal the military action could end there.
The president scrambled those calculations in a Truth Social post Sunday. He said that while it was not politically correct to use the term regime change, “if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!”
The White House walked back Trump’s remarks Monday, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying he was just suggesting the Iranian people might want a new government, not suggesting a new front or motive to the war.
Trump on Monday evening also announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, a move that suggests he wants to dramatically defuse tensions among all sides.
But the earlier remarks left Trump supporters opposed to the war worried, fearful more hawkish voices in the MAGA movement were carrying the day.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), one of the most outspoken MAGA voices opposed to U.S. intervention in the Iran-Israel war, said Americans are having restless nights as a result of Trump’s strikes.
“The reality is, no American slept better after America bombed Iran, because all of a sudden we now have threats on our homeland,” Greene said Monday on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast. “We now have warnings from our State Department for Americans overseas. … Americans in Israel are terrified for their lives.”
“Americans all over the world are seriously questioning if this is going to be World War III,” she said.
On the social platform X, Greene went a stop further.
“It feels like a complete bait and switch to please the neocons, warmongers, military industrial complex contracts, and neocon tv personalities that MAGA hates and who were NEVER TRUMPERS!” she wrote.
Trump’s regime change remarks notably came just hours after Vice President Vance in an appearance on NBC’s “Meet The Press” said the administration’s view “has been very clear” that regime change was not on the agenda.
“There is definitely concern among MAGA,” said one official who worked for the Trump administration in its first term. “The idea that Trump is openly floating regime change, especially in such blunt terms, makes me nervous. Not just because of the instability it could trigger, but because it signals he completely handed over foreign policy decisions to hard-liners like [Secretary of State Marco Rubio].”
“It’s become populist posturing with neocon execution,” the source added.
The more hawkish voices in Trump’s orbit welcomed Trump’s words, even if they are just a trial balloon.
“As usual, President Trump is spot on with his desire to make Iran great again by changing the regime either through their behavior or new leadership,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) wrote on X.
“As President Trump suggested, who in their right mind would want this regime to continue the status quo, attacking their neighbors, oppressing their people, and being the largest state sponsor of terrorism on the planet? If you like that, you’re a sick puppy. Count me in for any way possible to Make Iran Great Again by making it decent again,” he continued, adding the “MIGA!” acronym.
Bannon, a former top Trump White House official, said Monday he’s worried about mission creep.
“Now it’s all about, ‘Hey, we don’t know where the material is,’” Bannon said on the podcast, referring to Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile. “What’s that going to lead us to, folks? ‘Hey, do we need the 75th Ranger Battalion to go in and find it?’ Oh, it’s coming. It’s coming.”
“Is this because the ultimate goal is regime change? And if [so], that’s fine — Israelis, have at it,” he continued. “If you want regime change, go for it, baby. Just no participation by the United States government.”
Trump’s comments came after weeks in which he said dismantling Iran’s nuclear program would be the goal of any U.S. mission, not regime change.
The Truth Social post also conflicts with one of his long-standing views, as he has criticized what he perceived to be unnecessary meddling throughout the Middle East and vowed to keep the U.S. out of wars.
Before announcing the ceasefire, Trump signaled a desire to de-escalate after Iran on Monday launched missiles at a U.S. air base in Qatar. Iran provided prior notice of the attack, and according to the Qataris, all of the missiles were intercepted and there were no casualties.
The president is separately getting some questions from Congress about authorization of the strikes, with lawmakers pushing for a vote on the War Powers Resolution.
A vote on Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-Va.) measure could come at some point this week with some GOP support, but whether it could win the requisite 51 votes is an open question. It is unlikely enough Republicans would back it to override a presidential veto.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) also told reporters Monday that he does not back the resolution and is not supportive of bringing such a measure to the floor.
He noted presidents in both parties have launched strikes similar to Trump’s without congressional authority.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is the main GOP sponsor of the resolution. On Sunday, he accused Trump of “absolutely” breaking a campaign promise and labeled the idea that the strikes weren’t an act of war “ludicrous.”
“Three bombings to neutralize Iran may turn out to be the 2025 version of ‘two weeks to slow the spread.’ This could turn into a protracted, prolonged engagement. … I’m leery of this, given everything that’s happened before,” he told CNN.
