MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
After a week of raising the possibility of launching U.S. strikes against Iran, President Trump is suggesting diplomacy.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Yeah. The White House said he will make a decision about U.S. involvement within the next two weeks, a time frame Trump has regularly used for other decisions that have not come within those two weeks. The move comes amid growing concerns from some of his most vocal supporters that he's betraying his America First principles. The White House dismisses any connection between the criticism and Trump's delay in making a decision.
MARTIN: NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez has the latest on the political divide in Trump's world. Good morning, Franco.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: So why is Trump's base, so-called MAGA world, so up in arms against the idea of U.S. strikes on Iran?
ORDOÑEZ: I mean, well, President Trump campaigned on ending long foreign wars. In his inauguration speech, for example, he talked about wanting his legacy to be one of a peacemaker.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars that we end and, perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into.
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ORDOÑEZ: And now you have some of the biggest cheerleaders in MAGA world raising concerns about Trump escalating this crisis between Iran and Israel even more.
MARTIN: Like who?
ORDOÑEZ: Well, I mean, we've, of course, talked this week about concerns raised by former talk show host Tucker Carlson, who's warned the president's legacy is on the line. Another is Steve Bannon, who served as a senior adviser to Trump. He compared this conflict to Iraq and told reporters at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor that the administration needs to be very careful.
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STEVE BANNON: This is one of those ancient civilizations in the world - OK? - with 92 million people. We're just not - this is not something you play around with. You have to think this through at this level, and the American people have to be on board.
ORDOÑEZ: Now, Michel, I should also point out that not everyone in MAGA world opposes U.S. involvement. Folks like Fox host Mark Levin, as well as Senator Lindsey Graham, have called for Trump to help Israel.
MARTIN: So that raises a good point there, Franco, that there are different factions of the MAGA movement now. I guess they have different philosophies about what America First means.
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. That's exactly right. I mean, like any political coalition, there's going to be some splits. For some, it's economic policy and bringing back manufacturing to the U.S. Others, it's about not spending any money overseas at all, whether that's on USAID or supplying weapons to Ukraine. And I was talking with Jon McHenry. He's a Republican pollster who told me there are also some exceptions among religious conservatives of the movement, especially as it relates to Israel.
JON MCHENRY: I think for a lot of folks in MAGA, Israel is the one exception that it's important to support the Holy Land, to support Israel, and they will make an exception on this one country where they might not for a Ukraine, for a Taiwan, you know, for something else in Europe.
MARTIN: Franco, do you have a sense of what impact this divide has had on Trump and the administration?
ORDOÑEZ: I mean, certainly, he hasn't liked it. I mean, he's lashed out at Carlson, as well as reporters who asked about the divide. But I'm also not sure how much sleep he's really losing over it. You know, Trump doesn't need to, and he can't run for reelection again. And the Republicans I speak with say he's more likely looking at his legacy and seeing here a potential opportunity to topple a regime that Republicans have long looked to get rid of, but also balancing his own tendencies not to get involved with a war. You can see that all kind of playing out when he decided to delay the action by two weeks.
MARTIN: That is White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Franco, thank you.
ORDOÑEZ: Thank you, Michel. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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