Trump killed 'America First' in Iran -- and the midterm bloodbath will prove it
- GOP finger-pointing begins as dire polls predict a midterm wipeout, with MAGA faithful blaming Thune’s stalled SAVE Act for base demoralization.
- Neocons fret over Senate losses, but the real fissure is Trump’s betrayal of anti-war voters who backed him to end forever wars, not start new ones.
- Iran strikes and continued Ukraine proxy funding have shattered the ‘America First’ brand, leaving the base feeling like suckers at a casino that never pays out.
- Democrats are licking their chops as the GOP’s own grassroots turns on the very policies that made Trump a phenomenon in 2016.
- Thune and the RNC can spin all they want—this election is a verdict on whether Trump kept his word or sold it to the highest bidder in Tel Aviv and Kyiv.
Brief Summary
Washington Examiner’s post-mortem is less a news report than an obituary for the 'America First' illusion. Republicans are already blaming everyone from Thune to hawkish influencers, but the real culprit is Trump himself, who traded his 2016 anti-war promise for a regime-change romp in Iran and a bottomless checkbook for Ukraine. MAGA voters who marched to stop endless conflicts are waking up to a commander-in-chief who’s become a bauble for the military-industrial complex. Internal polls show the base is demoralized, not energized, and the GOP’s only plan is to blame the Senate for failing to appease them with election laws. The midterm 'bloodbath' won’t be a surprise—it’ll be a self-inflicted wound. And the neocons wringing their hands should save the tears: they cheered the very wars that just lit the fuse on their party’s demolition.
Why This Matters
For the average reader, this is a gut-check on whether your vote actually buys what it says on the tin. If you cast a ballot for Trump to stop endless wars, you just got played—Iran bombing and Ukraine funding aren’t 'de-escalation,' they’re a Pentagon shopping spree. The midterms are your chance to send a message, but here’s the cynical rub: both parties are happy to keep feeding the war machine, just with different sauces on the receipts. Your wallet’s bleeding from inflation at the pump and grocery store, and the government’s answer is more overseas spending. If you care about your own bank account over someone else’s geopolitical fantasy, this story is your wake-up call—before November, figure out which candidate actually hates war as much as you hate high prices.