A slew of conservative influencers have lashed out at Donald Trump for his betrayal of the campaign pledges that won him a second term in the White House.
“My definition of America First is that if it does not benefit American citizens, it is not America First,” James Fishback, a right-wing investor currently running for the GOP nomination in Florida’s gubernatorial race, told the Financial Times.
The newspaper describes the 31-year-old as an embodiment of “the ferment roiling the American right as erstwhile ideological allies turn on each other” over the president’s increasingly erratic decisions since assuming office for the second time last year.
War with Iran has proven the biggest sticking point. “There’s a real civil war happening in the Republican Party right now,” Fishback explained. “Some say it’s MAGA versus America First.”
In Fishback’s camp are other, more influential right-wing voices like Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, and Candace Owens. Carlson, who has backed Fishback in the Florida race, has slammed Trump’s war on Iran as “absolutely disgusting and evil.”
Many opposed to the president’s campaign against the regime have particularly taken issue with the perception that Trump’s hand may have been forced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“A Generational Coalition Squandered For Israel,” as conservative Christian podcaster Joel Webbon described the impact of the conflict on the GOP support base in an X post last month.
Others of a more pro-Israel leaning have stuck by the president’s side. These include prominent pundits like Ben Shapiro, Mark Levin, and Laura Loomer, who applaud his attacks on Iran as a vital campaign against one of the world’s chief sponsors of terrorism.
What Fishback himself describes as a “civil war” among the Republican Party faithful comes as the GOP faces a bruising battle to retain control of both the House and Senate in November’s midterms.
Trump’s overall approval ratings currently hover at a miserable 37 percent, comparable to levels last seen in the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 6 riots in 2021.
Democrats, meanwhile, hold an almost 6-point advantage on the generic congressional ballot, needing only three seats to retake the House of Representatives and four to regain control of the Senate.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment on this story.
