Steve Bannon just threw a curveball at President Donald Trump over his latest comments on Iran, and it’s stirring up a storm within the MAGA camp, as Washington Examiner reports.
This dust-up centers on Trump’s vocal support for pro-democracy protesters in Iran, a position Bannon slammed as a page ripped from the Obama-era foreign policy handbook, sparking a heated debate over America’s role abroad.
For hardworking taxpayers footing the bill, this spat raises real questions about where their hard-earned dollars might go—potentially funding military interventions overseas instead of fixing crumbling roads at home, with compliance costs and financial burdens piling up if escalation happens.
Bannon, a key figure in the isolationist wing of the Make America Great Again movement, aired his grievances on his WarRoom podcast, comparing Trump’s stance to the interventionist policies of former Obama officials like Samantha Power and Hillary Clinton.
“Aren’t people teasing that Samantha Power and Hillary Clinton must’ve somehow gotten invited to the Mar-a-Lago New Year’s Eve celebration, because the president coming out saying ‘Hey, we’re locked and loaded’, isn’t that straight out of the Samantha Power and Hillary Clinton playbook?” Bannon quipped on his podcast. Let’s be honest—that’s a zinger with some sting, suggesting Trump’s veering off the “America First” path into a swamp of globalist meddling.
Trump, for his part, didn’t hold back, posting on Truth Social about his readiness to back Iranian protesters if the regime cracks down violently.
“If Iran shots (sic) and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” Trump declared on Truth Social on January 2, 2026.
That’s a red line drawn in the sand, but for many conservatives, it’s a line that risks dragging us into another costly foreign entanglement.
Meanwhile, anti-government protests have flared up again in Iran over worsening economic conditions, with reports of detentions and deaths piling up.
The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights noted that Iranian authorities detained around 29 demonstrators, while the Associated Press reported at least seven fatalities during these clashes.
The U.S., along with allies like Israel, has long been wary of Iran’s Islamic leadership under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and tensions aren’t new—Trump himself authorized strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last summer.
At a press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week, Trump doubled down, threatening renewed bombings if Iran rebuilds its nuclear program.
Bannon praised the earlier strikes as a tactical win but staunchly opposed further action, arguing it plays into an “Israel First” mindset over American priorities.
Other GOP voices, like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, echoed Bannon’s concerns, warning that military involvement abroad contradicts the very principles their base voted for.
This rift in the MAGA movement isn’t just talk—it’s a fundamental clash over whether “America First” means staying out of foreign fights or stepping in as a global enforcer, and it’s a debate that won’t be settled easily.
