A founding principle of President Donald Trump’s MAGA platform was a return to a USA-first military policy, flirting with a 21st-century brand of isolationism. Rejecting the neoconservative principle of international American exceptionalism as the world’s police force, Trump and his supporters have said they eschew foreign entanglements that could lead to drawn-out conflicts such as the Iraq and Afghanistan wars of the early 2000s.

Yet, the Jan. 3, 2026, attack on Venezuela to capture strongman Nicolas Maduro leaned into regime change for the Trump administration. Meanwhile, Trump continues to cast a covetous eye toward Greenland and Cuba — even as he weighs military action to aid the Iranian revolution. His supporters face a dilemma of continuing their dedicated support of the president or calling out a violation of a central MAGA tenet.