Commentary: Jane Fonda and Tucker Carlson agree on this: Trump’s Iran war is bad — and a betrayal

Things take a strange turn when MAGA spokesman Tucker Carlson and left-handed icon Jane Fonda agree. But that’s exactly what happened Saturday when Fonda and Carlson spoke out against President Trump’s new war with Iran.

“We are currently witnessing the horrors of an unnecessary, unprovoked war of choice waged by the Trump administration,” Fonda told a crowd of anti-war protesters in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday. “This dangerous and insane war against Iran not only violates international law, our constitution, and the War Powers Act, it also risks escalating into a mass war that will cost many lives, including U.S. service members.”

Former Fox News host Carlson called the launch of Operation Epic Fury “absolutely disgusting and evil.” Interview with ABC News Chief Washington correspondent Jon Karl. The conservative podcaster said the attack would have major implications for the MAGA party and Trump ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. “This will deeply shuffle the deck.”

Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign promise was “America first,” but his administration broke that vow late Friday night by launching a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran.

The president who once promised to avoid foreign entanglements is now flexing his muscles abroad. While the usual suspects line up, some Republicans are voicing anti-war sentiments, railing against their actions in Iran and expressing concerns about what’s next.

self-declared “President of PEACE” The attack on Iran was a “major and ongoing operation” aimed at overthrowing the country’s regime and ending its nuclear programs, he said in a Truth Social video released on Saturday. So much for Trump’s 2024 Campaign Trail, which vows not to start “no new wars.” Or the Trump of 2016, who declared that “regime change is a proven, utter failure.”

Despite his isolationist slogans — “America First,” repeated at rallies and on all things MAGA merchandise — many disgruntled Trump supporters think he is pushing the United States behind Iran, Venezuela, the Caribbean, etc.

Carlson’s remarks were more palatable compared to those of former Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was one of MAGA’s most outspoken advocates until she broke with Trump over his administration’s handling of the Epstein files.

“War with Iran does not reduce inflation or make living costs affordable” Greene wrote. Saturday at X. “The Trump admin actually asked in a poll how many deaths voters would be willing to accept in a war with Iran???,” another post read. he said. “How about ZERO, you sick liars. We voted for America First and ZERO wars.”

Despite Trump’s claims that military action would help Iranians on the ground, popular right-wing podcasters The Hodgetwins condemned the US-Israeli attacks. x post: “The reason I voted for Trump is not to liberate the Iranian people,” the post said.

Trump hasn’t made much of a marketing effort to sell his new war to MAGA or anyone else. Four months into his second term, he would have to address his old boast that he had “destroyed” the country’s nuclear program in June when he sent US forces to bomb strategic sites. He repeated his claim of destruction in last Tuesday’s State of the Union address.

But in recent days, the president has claimed that Iran has restarted its nuclear program and now has enough nuclear material to make a bomb in a few days. He said Iran “is developing missiles that can threaten Europe and our overseas bases, and they are working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States.”

But reports from international arms monitoring groups, American officials and U.S. intelligence agencies say Iran’s previously enriched uranium stockpiles are still buried after last year’s attacks, making it nearly impossible for Iran to produce a bomb “within days.” Experts also reported little evidence that Iran is actively continuing its efforts to enrich uranium, let alone build a bomb-detonating mechanism.

At least the Bush administration put some effort into its false claim that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, so we should have invaded Baghdad in 2003. Think of all the meetings and memos they could have skipped if they had ended the war the Trump way, alienating their base in the process.

Of course, everything Trump does comes with the usual flood of unqualified support from his Senate stalwarts like Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), as well as praise from 99.9% of Fox News’ on-air staff.

While the administration claimed that the attacks would continue throughout the week, Iranian state media reported the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and many senior officials in his government on Saturday.

It is impossible to know how this war will end. Maybe it could lead to a better government for the long-suffering Iranian people. But maybe it will bring more instability, oppression and violence.

One thing is clear: Gone is the “America first” Trump who criticized other presidents for bringing the United States into war abroad. He is now the instigator of regime change and will have to live with the political consequences. This conclusion includes a sense of betrayal among some on the right, such as conservative influencers Keith and Kevin Hodge: “President Trump completely LIED to his voters, stabbed our country in the back, and disgraced his legacy beyond repair.”