Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., is voicing sharp criticism of President Donald Trump as the United States continues its military campaign against Iran, fueling an already heated debate within the MAGA movement over foreign intervention and the meaning of “America First.”
Over the weekend, the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran amid ongoing peace talks. Several high-ranking Iranian officials were killed, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The attacks also resulted in civilian casualties, including at least 165 people — mostly children — at a girls’ elementary school in southern Iran. Six U.S. soldiers have also been killed. President Trump has said he expects the campaign to last weeks and, in a striking comment, noted that he had considered possible successors for Iranian leadership but that they were eliminated in the bombings.
According to a report from The New York Times, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu played a key role in persuading Trump to take action.
The strikes have intensified divisions among Trump’s supporters. Greene, along with figures such as Tucker Carlson, has argued that the military action undermines the “America First” principles that helped define Trump’s political movement.
Appearing Monday on The Megyn Kelly Show on SiriusXM, Greene delivered an emotional rebuke of the current strategy.
“I was out there on the front lines for Make America Great Again,” Greene said. “And Make America Great Again was supposed to be America First, not Israel First, not any foreign country First, not any foreign people First, but the American people First and our problems.”
While expressing sympathy for the Iranian people and hope that they might one day have a government that treats women fairly, Greene pointed to the civilian deaths reported in the recent strikes.
“We seen over 100 little girls killed at a school from a bomb. And I don’t know whose bomb it was, but they’re dead today because America and Israel attacked Iran,” she said. “So, that’s not really good for Iranian women.”
Greene also rejected the administration’s suggestion that the Iranian people might rise up against their regime as a result of the strikes.
“I don’t think the Iranian people are going to be toppling their regime when they’re getting blown apart by the United States and Israel in an unprovoked attack,” she said. “And yes, it was unprovoked.”
She took issue with comments from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who said the U.S. did not start the war.
“America and Israel definitely started this war and you can’t lie that away to the American people,” Greene said.
Turning directly to Trump, Greene questioned what she sees as a departure from past promises to avoid foreign entanglements.
“He already said to The New York Post today that he doesn’t care about the polling,” Greene said, adding that the president has not ruled out putting troops on the ground. She contrasted earlier suggestions that the conflict would be brief with more recent estimates that it could last four weeks or longer.
“What is happening to the man that I supported?” she asked. “The man that denounced what happened in Iraq? The man that said, ‘No more foreign wars, no more regime change?’”
Greene concluded by calling for a broader national conversation about the direction of U.S. foreign policy as American troops are once again engaged in combat.
Kelly, for her part, echoed skepticism about Trump’s assertion that the Iranian military might lay down its arms willingly.
“Based on what?!” Kelly asked, suggesting that if such a scenario does not unfold, the conflict could deepen further.
As the Iran campaign continues, Greene’s remarks underscore growing tension within the conservative movement over how best to balance strength abroad with promises made at home.
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