President Donald Trump’s latest escalation of threats against Iran has further exposed growing rifts on the far-right. On Tuesday morning, Trump used his Truth Social platform to suggest he will launch a devastating attack against Iran this evening unless the country makes a deal with him.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump said, adding, “However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World.”
Trump later issued a Tuesday night deadline of 8 P.M. ET. The threats come as Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which it undertook in response to U.S. strikes, has caused oil prices to spike and threatened further economic disruption. Trump has demanded the country reopen the waterway, including in an expletive-laden Easter Sunday Truth Social post where he threatened to destroy Iranian infrastructure.
“Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH!” Trump wrote, before signing off, “Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP”
These harsh comments have exacerbated the divisions within Trump’s base. The dramatic deadline rhetoric deepened an emerging split between the White House and MAGA isolationists, provoking sharp criticism from the right wing.
Joe Kent, a former Trump appointee who resigned from his position as director of the National Counterterrorism Center in mid-March over his concerns about the war, made a post on the X social media site warning that, if the president followed through on his threat to eliminate the Iranian “civilization,” it could “upend our economy and shatter the global order.”
“Trump believes he is threatening Iran with destruction, but it is America that now stands in danger,” Kent wrote, adding, “If he attempts to eradicate Iranian civilization, the United States will no longer be viewed as a stabilizing force in the world, but as an agent of chaos—effectively ending our status as the world’s greatest superpower.”
The comments illustrate how the war, which Trump launched in conjunction with Israel in late February, has been a rare topic of contention within the MAGA movement. Trump’s attacks on Iran have been seen by some as a betrayal since the president had made ending foreign wars a cornerstone of his platform.
As TPM’s own Josh Marshall has previously noted, Kent’s distancing from Trump is notable because of the extent of his right-wing radicalism: he is an election denier with links to white supremacists. Kent’s opposition to the war underscores the extent to which Israel’s involvement has been part of the concern for many on the far right, whose frustrations with the Jewish state have blended non-interventionism and outright antisemitism.
Another erstwhile election denying stalwart, ex-Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, also joined the chorus of critics on Tuesday with an “X” post of her own in which she suggested her former colleagues should use their power to remove Trump from office.
“25TH AMENDMENT!!! Not a single bomb has dropped on America. We cannot kill an entire civilization,” Greene wrote. “This is evil and madness.”
Greene resigned from Congress in January following a series of policy disagreements with Trump, including spats over the Epstein files and foreign affairs. The split saw Greene face personal attacks from the president and emerge as one of his more vocal right-wing critics.
On his podcast, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson encouraged military officials to reject any orders from Trump that would result in mass civilian deaths or the use of nuclear weapons.
“Now it’s time to say no, absolutely not, and say it directly to the president, no,” Carlson said.
Carlson also referenced Trump’s Easter Sunday threat, which he called “evil” and un-Christian.
Both Greene and Carlson have been touted as potential 2028 presidential candidates. Their increasingly vocal criticism of Trump is perhaps evidence of how much his term-limited status is helping to fuel dissent along with the unpopular military action. For her part, Greene has said she would support Carlson in a potential White House bid.
Far-right broadcaster Candace Owens echoed Greene’s call for the president’s removal in her own social media post.
“The 25th amendment needs to be invoked. He is a genocidal lunatic. Our Congress and military need to intervene. We are beyond madness,” wrote Owens.
As is his custom, Infowars host Alex Jones, who is normally a staunch pro-Trump conspiracy theorist, had the most dramatic response to Trump’s latest Iran threat. On “X,” Jones posted a series of siren emojis alongside an all caps “WAR CRIME ALERT!!”
“The definition of genocide is destroying an entire civilization/people! Trump literally sounds like an unhinged super villain from a Marvel comic movie,” Jones wrote, adding, “This IS NOT WHAT WE VOTED FOR!!!”
As of Tuesday afternoon, it remains unclear whether Trump will follow through on the aggressive rhetoric. In a phone conversation with Fox News’ Bret Baier, the president reportedly said the 8 p.m. deadline “is happening.” However, Trump also noted that could change if negotiations with Iran move forward today.
Gregory Brew, the senior Iran and oil analyst for the Eurasia Group, pointed out those comments created a potential off ramp — and that Trump has previously backed off his threats despite a lack of progress on talks.
“Trump told Fox News that based on progress in negotiations, he may extend his deadline to escalate against infrastructure targets in Iran,” Brew wrote on “X.” “Would be the fourth time he has done so.”
Pakistan seeks two week ceasefire to achieve end to war. Maybe this is Chimichanga Tuesday.
The problem is the half that doesn’t support Trump’s insanity did at one time. They didn’t see this coming? Maybe they thought they could milk the rubes for a few more dollars.
Trump is desperate. He keeps digging the hole he has made for himself deeper. It does not help things that he is demented on top of being a pure evil SOB.
He’s threatening other countries with genocide. That is insane. He needs to be removed from power.
I suspect more like “Burrito Bullshit”…