"Up against this is the sheer enormity of Trump's betrayal-a betrayal obviously not of all his supporters but of those who found his regular critiques of forever wars compelling and thought credible his promotion of himself as the "peace candidate." This was one of the two salient issues (the other was immigration) that in 2016 separated him from the GOP establishment represented by Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, and in 2024 from Nikki Haley."
"Trump had, if not exorcised neoconservatism from the GOP foreign policy playbook, demoted it from its previously dominant position. His attack on Iran demonstrated that this view of Trump was completely mistaken, and those who held it feel saddened, shocked, betrayed, and stupid, in various degrees. He lied to his core supporters for years."
Trump's Iran military action represents a significant betrayal of supporters who backed him as a peace candidate opposing forever wars. This contradicts his 2016 differentiation from establishment Republicans like Bush, Rubio, and Cruz, and his 2024 distinction from Nikki Haley. Trump had previously demoted neoconservatism from its dominant position in GOP foreign policy. His core supporters who found his anti-war critiques compelling feel deceived, shocked, and betrayed. The action tests theories about Trump's political base: whether MAGA is purely defined by Trump's statements regardless of consistency, whether supporters prioritize personality over policy, or whether this betrayal will meaningfully impact his political coalition.
Read at The American Conservative
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