Trump's new 'gamble' relies on 'another lie' to his already fracturing MAGA base: analysis

Donald Trump has defied the wishes of his faithful MAGA voter base and proven he will defy even his closest supporters, a political analyst has claimed.

The president's decision to carry out strikes on Iran goes against one of the foundational claims of his run for another stint in the White House, Christopher Bucktin has claimed. Writing in The Mirror, the investigative journalist suggested Trump had betrayed his key support group to enter into a war with Iran.

He wrote, "Trump’s political genius was identifying that Republican voters were tired of endless war. His political gamble now is that they will swallow another one.

"As American blood is shed and the rhetoric of 'no new wars' collides with the reality of fresh graves, the question echoing through parts of MAGA is not whispered; it is shouted: Was the promise ever real, or was it just another lie to get their vote?"

Bucktin went on to suggest Trump had won his way back into the White House because of his anti-war rhetoric, which appealed to MAGA voters who did not want to endure further regime changes across the globe.

"He rode back into the White House on a vow that he alone would end America’s addiction to regime change and pointless foreign entanglements," Bucktin wrote. "No more reckless invasions.

"No more flag-draped coffins returning from deserts most Americans could not point to on a map. No more sacrificing working-class sons and daughters to the foreign policy vanity projects of Washington elites. For millions of MAGA voters, that pledge was not incidental. It was foundational."

Trump's own words came back to haunt him, as critics point out his opposition to President Barack Obama's involvement in Iran. Trump, in 2011, claimed, "Our president will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate."

This claim, Bucktin says, "...read less like prophecy and more like self-indictment. Barack Obama, for all the controversy surrounding his nuclear deal, never attacked Iran.

"Trump has now done so repeatedly, after tearing up that agreement and failing to negotiate a replacement. The accusation he once hurled at Obama - that war would mask diplomatic failure - now hangs over his own presidency."