Bannon’s comments reflect the growing division between Trump’s Maga Base

A measured Steve Bannon told a group of journalists on Wednesday that it is a mistake that the United States gets involved in a direct military action against Iran, urging President Donald Trump to question Israeli intelligence and the warnings of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Are all this military effort they have done, now stays to the United States to have to enter and finish it? The Israelis have to finish what they started,” said Bannon, a former Top Trump strategist who is still close to the president, told journalists at a breakfast at Washington sponsored by Cristian Science Monitor. “There is no hurry to hurry, so that the United States is in a military solution. I realize that the president is looking at a variety of alternatives. He is looking at a variety of alternatives, and has done everything possible to negotiate.”

If Trump decides that a specific strike is necessary on nuclear facilities in Iran, said Bannon, it does not have to happen “tomorrow, or the next day, or the next day:” “The president should take the time to think about this with his advisors.”

But, despite its public and private skepticism about the need to act, and the obvious divisions within the Maga base, even of Bannon in its influential podcast of “War Sala”, Bannon made it clear that if Trump decides that the United States takes direct measures, most of their supporters will come and be convinced.

“I will tell you, if the president as a commander in chief makes the decision to do this, and he presents and keeps people through him, the Maga Movement, you will lose some, but the Maga Movement, the Marjorie Taylor Greness, the Matt Gaetzes, we will fight against the end, to make sure you have information, but if it has more intelligence and makes that case to the American people, the Maga Move President Trump, Trump, “Trump”.

When asked Wednesday morning about his base that distrusts himself from entering a war with Iran, Trump replied: “My supporters are more in love with me today, and I am in love with them more than they were even at the time of the elections.”

“So I can have some people who are a bit unhappy now, but I have some people who are very happy and I have people out of the base who cannot believe that this is happening. They are very happy.

Bannon also backed Netanyahu’s attempt to co -opt phrases, specifically citing what Israeli prime minister told Jonathan Karl of ABC News on Monday as part of his campaign to press Trump to act.

“Today, it’s Tel Aviv. Tomorrow, it’s New York,” Netanyahu told Karl on Monday. “Look, I understand ‘America first’. I do not understand ‘America Dead’. That is what these people want. They sing ‘death to America’. So we are doing something that is at the service of humanity, of humanity, and it is a battle of good against evil.

“To give a conference to the Maga Movement, ‘America First, America Dead’ – Hey look, friend: I served my country, my daughter served my country, the American people make that decision. We do not need to be conferences of Jerusalem or Tel Aviv in that.”

Bannon also pointed out that Netanyahu warned that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear bomb for decades, and that Israel’s intelligence could not resume Hamas attacks in October 2023.

In more general terms, Bannon expressed fear that an important military action would distract from what he sees as more urgent priorities of Trump, particularly massive deportations of undocumented immigrants and confronting China. He said he still believes that Trump is mainly dedicated to “coercive diplomacy”, positioning assets in the region and issuing forceful warnings, to avoid a conflict.

“I think the coldest heads will prevail,” he said.

Trump, he said, is aware that his political rise was partly fed to the opposition to endless wars in the Middle East.

“We don’t want more wars forever,” said Bannon. “We can’t do this again. We will tear the country. We can’t have another Iraq.”