A plume of smoke rises after a strike on Tehran on March 3.
Photographer: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images‘MAGA Is Split’: Trump’s War in Iran Divides America First Loyalists
The military strikes — and their impact on the economy — have emerged as a grave political vulnerability for Republicans ahead of midterm elections.
President Donald Trump made an emphatic declaration on Friday about his intentions in the widening Middle East war: He’d accept no deal with Iran other than “unconditional surrender” and pledged the US “will work tirelessly” to restore the country’s economy if a new leader is installed whom he deems acceptable.
Nearly a week in, the military campaign has sent oil prices soaring and roiled equity and bond markets across the globe. The online missive showed the president — who campaigned as a pro-peace candidate — is digging in on policies that threaten to tear his fragile political coalition apart.