US move to bomb Iranian nuclear sites divide GOP supporters: media reports
The US move to attack three nuclear sites in Iran has divided Trump supporters in the US and unsettled some allies, the Washington Post reported.
The prospect of escalation with Iran expanded the divide within the GOP over military intervention - and left some Republicans worried about political fallout, particularly if Iran retaliates by targeting Americans or curtailing crucial shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz, potentially increasing oil prices and undercutting the president's promises to reduce costs, according to the Washington Post.
Trump's decision to launch a military strike on Iran's nuclear sites without fully consulting the US Congress also layered a partisan approach onto a risky action, particularly because the White House briefed top Republican leaders beforehand while leaving Democrats with little information, the AP said on Monday.
The AP also noted that it's a highly unusual situation that is complicating the difficult politics ahead for the US president and his party as the US enters an uncertain national security era with the surprise military attack on the nuclear facilities, an unprecedented incursion in Iran.
Steve Bannon, a top adviser in Trump's first White House and host of the "War Room" podcast, made it clear in a special broadcast Saturday night that he would have preferred for Israel to take the lead in striking Iran's nuclear facilities, NBC News reported on Sunday.
Bannon gave voice to the doubts some MAGA voters would have about the mission, according to NBC News.
Trump said on Saturday that the US military had carried out a "very successful" attack on three nuclear sites in Iran.
The Washington Post reported recent polls show that Americans widely agree that Iranian success in developing a nuclear weapon would amount to a threat to the US. But polls conducted before the bombing also found that somewhere between 25 and 30 percent of Republicans opposed a military strike, the Washington Post said.