Donald Trump\u2019s acceptance of a two-week ceasefire in Iran has exposed fresh divisions in his Make America Great Again (Maga) movement, with some supporters expressing vindication and others accusing the US president of betrayal.<\/p>\n
The US and Iran both claimed victory after the two countries agreed to pause hostilities<\/a> following more than a month of war. But the strait of Hormuz remained closed on Wednesday and fighting was still taking place as Israel launched its biggest attacks yet on Lebanon.<\/p>\n Democrats and other critics said Trump had suffered a humiliating strategic defeat<\/a> given that, for all his apocalyptic bluster, Iran\u2019s regime remains intact and still holds a stockpile of highly enriched uranium while also now exerting control of the strait.<\/p>\n Maga loyalists raced to defend the president. Dinesh D\u2019Souza, a rightwing commentator and film-maker, posted on social media<\/a>: \u201cOnce again, Trump outsmarts the critics. Once again he exposes their inner derangement. Once again he proves he is the adult in the room. Once again.\u201d<\/p>\n Matt Schlapp, a lobbyist who is chairman of the American Conservative Union, insisted<\/a>: \u201cThe Maga base trusts Trump \u2013 and trusts his decisions are grounded in real, actionable intelligence.\u201d<\/p>\n Maga members of Congress were mostly silent but Nancy Mace of South Carolina did post<\/a>: \u201cPeace through STRENGTH. President Trump has shown the world yet again what this looks like. Its time to end the conflict for good and bring our troops home.\u201d<\/p>\n Other voices sounded defensive as they sought to push back against the torrent of criticism that Trump\u2019s war had achieved nothing except inadvertently strengthening Iran\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n Alex Bruesewitz, a political consultant and adviser to Trump\u2019s 2024 presidential campaign, posted<\/a>: \u201c\u2018American capitulation\u2019? How ridiculous. President Trump dismantled the Iranian regime, destroyed the vast majority of their military capabilities, and is now working toward a tremendous deal for the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack Posobiec, a political activist and conspiracy theorist, told Steve Bannon\u2019s War Room podcast<\/a>: \u201cA lot of these people who are saying Iran did so well, they overperformed \u2013 you gotta look at the scoreboard. The scoreboard does not show that Iran was able to fight off the Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cAre they toothless? No. But they are not some kind of monster that\u2019s about to take over the Middle East \u2026 The president is working to create a \u2018new normal\u2019 for the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n Some sought to discourage Trump from making too many concessions. Lindsey Graham, arguably the most pro-war Republican<\/a> in the Senate, expressed faith in the president but admitted that the \u201csupposed negotiating document, in my view, has some troubling aspects\u201d.<\/p>\n Rejecting the notion that Tehran should be allowed to \u201csave face\u201d by maintaining a small uranium enrichment programme, Graham added<\/a>: \u201cI\u2019m not remotely interested in providing face-saving cover to a regime that murders its own people, beats a 16-year-old girl to death for not wearing a headscarf appropriately, and is dripping in American blood.\u201d<\/p>\n Others struck a note of caution and deployed a familiar defence: that Trump might be receiving the wrong advice.<\/p>\n Mark Levin, a Fox News host who was an ardent war hawk, told the network\u2019s viewers<\/a>: \u201cI trust President Trump. I know his heart. I know he wants to do the right thing. I know that he has people telling him to do something else, and other advisers telling him something different, but he\u2019s the most understanding and competent of the bunch. And he\u2019s the president of the United States, and his instincts are very, very good.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I would say this: this enemy is still the enemy. They\u2019re still surviving. Their military may be destroyed, but the communist Chinese will still help them, and the Russians will still help them rebuild. So this thing\u2019s not over. And it\u2019s not that I\u2019m a warmonger \u2013 it\u2019s that they\u2019re the warmongers. It\u2019s not that I\u2019m an interventionist \u2013 it\u2019s that they\u2019re the interventionists.\u201d<\/p>\n Elsewhere on Fox News there was a dawning realisation that Trump might have been outsmarted and outplayed given the persistence of Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities, refusal to accept inspectors and continued ballistic missile programme.<\/p>\n Lawrence Jones, a co-host of the Fox & Friends show, said<\/a>: \u201cI will say, the president\u2019s demands \u2013 we have not reached any of those objectives. I have full confidence that the president is going to find some way to make this happen.<\/p>\n \u201cThe question is: is the president using this two weeks to give our soldiers a break, a rest, to see if we can get this ultimately done? We\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n Some Maga voices were more sharply critical. Matthew Feinberg, an author and self-described \u201cMaga Jew\u201d, posted on X<\/a>: \u201cA ceasefire that leaves the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] in power isn\u2019t peace. It\u2019s permission. Permission to regroup. Permission to rearm. Permission to do it all over again. That\u2019s not a win. That\u2019s a delay.\u201d<\/p>\n Even Laura Loomer, an activist and self-proclaimed Islamophobe who has been an ardent defender of Trump during the war, expressed dismay at the outcome.<\/p>\n She wrote on X<\/a>: \u201cThe negotiation is a negative for our country. We didn\u2019t really get anything out of it and the terrorists in Iran are celebrating. I don\u2019t know why people are acting like this is a win.\u201d<\/p>\n The Maga movement has been shaken by Trump\u2019s expansionist foreign policy during his second term. Opinion polls suggest most rank-and-file voters continue to back him. But some high-profile podcasters and \u201cmanosphere\u201d influencers have denounced him<\/a> for abandoning an \u201cAmerica First\u201d commitment to ending military commitments overseas.<\/p>\n