GRAPEVINE, Texas — More than a month after the Iran war began, President Donald Trump‘s most fervent supporters still trust the commander in chief’s ability to lead the United States out of the conflict without committing U.S. service members to combat.
At the annual Conservative Political Action Conference over the weekend, several attendees repeatedly told the Washington Examiner they are backing Trump even as the war remains largely unpopular among the public.
“I support it. I fully support it,” said Virginia Bond, 74, a retiree from Grapevine, Texas. “I trust Trump to make the right decisions along the way, as things develop. I mean, every president, several presidents, have passed the buck on it, and they’ve regretted it. Nobody’s had the courage to step up and do what we need to do.”
Other Trump supporters claimed that the war did not violate his previous campaign pledge to stay out of foreign conflicts, a stance that has angered some of the “America First” wing of the MAGA base.
“I know the people that have attacked President Trump, saying that he’s gone against his pledge of no wars, but he’s not. This had to be done,” said James Schaare, 61, from Dallas.
“I’m for it 100%,” he said. “Now, of course, we don’t want anybody to lose their lives, but the Iranian government has already murdered tens of thousands of their own people, and the Islamic regime has continued to push their evil all around.”
Despite Schaare’s defense, some of MAGA’s most prominent supporters have publicly split with the administration over the war.
“As this thing goes south, we need to know exactly who talked [Trump] into it and what representations were made to convince the president that this was a good idea,” said Megyn Kelly, on her eponymous show. “Who? Who specifically? The names we know are Bibi Netanyahu first and foremost.”
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz warned CPAC attendees during his speech that “a ground invasion of Iran will make our country poorer and less safe.”
Even some members of Gen Z, who attended CPAC, were public in their disdain of the Iran war. Many young people didn’t even show up to the conference.
The president is facing a crossroads over the future of the war: either strike a ceasefire deal with Tehran or escalate further. On Monday morning, Trump appeared to be pushing both tactics when he vowed to obliterate Iran’s energy infrastructure if it did not agree to Washington’s peace proposal on Truth Social.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt denied questions from reporters about whether Trump’s threat, if carried out, would be a war crime, as some have claimed.
“Of course, this administration and the United States Armed Forces will always act within the confines of the law,” Leavitt said during Monday’s press briefing. “But with respect to achieving the full objectives of Operation Epic Fury, President Trump is going to move forward unabated, and he expects the Iranian regime to make a deal with the administration.”
But that has not deterred the faithful conservatives who spent four days at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center from standing by the president.
Standing just outside Steve Bannon’s live podcast station at CPAC, Elizabeth Rotan, a 62-year-old Houston resident, dismissed more pessimistic assessments of the war in Iran and voiced support for the Trump administration’s approach.
“I don’t agree with his view. I think we’ve already won,” Rotan said, referring to Bannon’s remarks. Rather than advocating for expanded U.S. involvement, she suggested the outcome would be driven internally.
“I think the Iranian people will bring the government forward that they want,” she said, adding that she hopes the country’s exiled crown prince could play a role.
Rotan pointed to what she sees as shifting dynamics across the region, suggesting the war could ultimately lead to a more stable outcome.
“I think the other countries in the Middle East are coming forward, and I think the whole situation will result in peace in the region,” she said.
Grapevine residents Xavier Heim, a 39-year-old commercial airline pilot and Air Force veteran, and Molly Sawyer, a 39-year-old flight attendant, also expressed strong support for U.S. action in Iran, while acknowledging the risks of escalation.
Heim, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said the region has long posed a threat to the U.S.
The “Middle East has always been a danger for us,” he said. “Iran, they’ve been threatening us for 47-plus years.”
At the same time, he warned of possible unintended consequences, including instability if the war is not handled carefully.
“I do fear about a power vacuum in Iran,” Heim said, pointing to past U.S. interventions. “The power vacuum is going to create something worse … maybe that future.”
Sawyer struck a more optimistic tone, arguing that U.S. involvement could ultimately support the Iranian people. She said many Iranians have been “fighting and protesting for years” against their government and expressed hope that removing the current leadership could allow for “a more democratic government.”
CPAC’s annual straw poll showed Trump garnered a 96% approval rate, despite skipping the conference “due to his schedule. He is heavily engaged in the ongoing Iran conflict and managing other critical issues,” according to a White House official.
CPAC FACES RELEVANCY ISSUE WITH YOUTH ACTIVISTS OVER IRAN WAR
“You look at it, it’s just incredible,” said Jim McLaughlin, a CPAC board member, onstage with CPAC chairman Matt Schlapp. “The support that President Trump maintains, in spite of what we’re being told by the ‘Talking Heads,’ really makes me wonder what some of these ‘MAGA people’ are actually thinking.
“I think at the end of the day, they’re really not MAGA people,” McLaughlin said.
