(AFP) – US President Donald Trump thrusting the country into a new Middle East war has prompted backlash from Americans across the political spectrum — with the exception of his devoted political base. Despite soaring oil prices, uncertain outcomes, and rising US casualties, those faithful to the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) cause still broadly support Trump’s actions in Iran. A recent Yahoo/YouGov poll found only a quarter of those who voted for Trump in 2024 oppose the war.
“I’m trusting his judgement that he knows what he’s doing,” said Jane Sick, a 64-year-old Trump supporter, to AFP when reached by phone. The homemaker from Richmond, Virginia said she was “sad for the families” of US soldiers who have lost their lives so far. “But unfortunately, that’s part of probably what needs to happen when we go into conflict,” she added. Her comments echo Trump himself, who, when announcing the first American casualties from war, said: “Sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is.”
– ‘I trust him’ –
North Carolina resident Shelley Hughes was more ambivalent. “I mean, there’s things that need to be done, but I don’t always agree with the way they’re done,” she told AFP. However, she said she has not turned her back on the man she elected to be president. “I trust him, you know. And I just pray that he’s doing the right things for the right reason,” she added.
Shortly after the first US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, an NBC News poll found 90 percent of people who identified as “MAGA” supported the military operation, compared to just 54 percent of conservatives who did not identify with the movement. David Sacks, appointed by Trump as the White House’s point person for crypto and artificial intelligence, said in a podcast episode that the divide was becoming increasingly apparent. “You are seeing, however, a faction of people…largely, but not exclusively in the Republican Party who want to escalate the war,” he said.
– ‘Strong, great presidential leader’ –
Christy Edwards, a retired high school teacher in North Carolina, said she supports the US aligning with Israel, which is coming under growing scrutiny by the US right-wing. “Iran has always hated Israel. That’s biblical, that’s prophecy,” Edwards, 55, told AFP. “We are always in America to take allies with Israel no matter what. And so that is what President Trump was doing, is backing Israel.”
Another Trump supporter, 66-year-old Edward Young of New Jersey, told AFP he has waited 47 years for Washington to bring down Iran’s leadership, ever since the US-backed shah was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic revolution. “I mean, it is amazing how one strong, great presidential leader, President Trump, was able to start the ball rolling to utterly stop this situation overnight,” Young, who has attended over 100 Trump rallies, said. When asked about Trump’s campaign promise to keep the United States out of foreign affairs, Young defended the 79-year-old president. “I don’t see that as broken promise because President Trump did not start a new war, as far as I’m concerned…President Trump is finally getting around to ending that war,” he said.
– Ulysse Bellier and Aurelia End
© 2024 AFP
