TEHRAN – For a moment in the American night, a bonfire appears ready to burn down the old order and warm forgotten peoples. In 2016, it seemingly roared, taking Donald Trump from ridiculed outsider to victor, quickly wiping out the Republican establishment with a raw cry against endless wars, open borders, and elite corruption.
The white working class, Rust Belt workers, disillusioned veterans, and young people scrolling through a world that felt rigged against them felt like they were finally showing up.
Trump’s Electoral College upset over Hillary Clinton felt like fate. Eight years later, in 2024, the fire was reignited, even as the establishment appeared intent on putting Trump behind bars. Kamala Harris, who won the popular vote, was decisively defeated by a vote of 312 to 226, marking a victory among the minority. Victory tasted sweeter than ever.
But less than a year into President Trump’s second term, we find ourselves in a situation where the fire is extinguished. Opinion polls show his approval rating has soared to 38%, the lowest of his tenure, amid anger over stagnant wages, soaring costs and a sense that the movement is being quietly hijacked.
MAGA, a chaotic coalition of nationalists and populists, is currently in a state of disintegration. It feels like we have reached the tragic end of Orwell’s Animal Farm. There, supposed revolutionaries seamlessly transform into the very tyrants they once swore to overthrow.
And at the heart of this rupture, whispered through online forums and podcast rants alike, is a phrase that captures the growing wing’s intense disillusionment: “Israel did it.”
Chapter 1: The Great Schism
The American right has never been monolithic, but MAGA has made it ferocious in a short period of time. Tucker Carlson recently distilled its essence into five pillars. It’s about putting Americans first, securing our borders, ending senseless wars, restoring real jobs, and defending free speech as the foundation of freedom.
Today, those pillars are teetering. One faction clings fiercely to them: young nationalists, paleo-conservatives, liberals, and “America First” purists who see global chaos as the ultimate betrayal.
On the other side stand solid ultra-Zionists and neocons. Extremists like Mark Levin decry all criticism of Israel. Senators like Lindsey Graham are always eager to start wars throughout the Middle East. Commentators like Ben Shapiro frame unwavering support for Israel as moral clarity.
Donors like Miriam Adelson raise hundreds of millions with constant anticipation. Tech billionaires like Larry Ellison buy up both digital media, like TikTok, and traditional media, like Paramount and CBS. Congressmen like Randy Fine go so far as to praise Israel’s genocide while condemning their opponents.
This is not just a policy battle. It is a civil war for the soul of the American right, with Israel as its symbol and weapon.
Chapter 2: The power that must not be named
How can a young, far-flung, occupied regime exert such gravitational pull on a supposed superpower? The answer is carrots and sticks.
Millions of dollars in campaign contributions from AIPAC and megadonors (Mr. Adelson alone has funneled more than $200 million to pro-Israel candidates) serve as carrots. Aspiring politicians make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem’s Western Wall, where a yarmulke sits for the obligatory photo. Loyalty is rewarded.
Attacks are faster. Ask a question about Israel, and you immediately risk the taint of anti-Semitism, a well-funded primary challenger, the annihilation of the media, the sudden release of compromising material, and threats to your livelihood, even your life.
Before October 7, 2023, right-wing Israel skeptics were exiles. Israel’s genocidal war against Gaza has torn apart that common understanding.
Images of suffering transformed Overton’s windows. Hatred of the once-marginalized nation of Israel has skyrocketed among young conservatives. 2025 polls show Gen Z Republicans are faster than any demographic to oppose unlimited aid.
President Trump’s record added fuel to the fire. The relocation of the Jerusalem (al-Quds) embassy, the recognition of the Golan Heights, the Abraham Accords, the $38 billion aid package, sanctions and invasion of Iran were all celebrated as victories, but they called out America First to prioritize foreign allies over domestic decline.
Domestically, anti-BDS laws and executive orders equated anti-Zionism with “anti-Semitism,” creating a tone-deaf rhetoric that goes against America First principles.
Chapter 3: North Korean defectors who lit the fuse
Rebellion has a face. One of them is Tucker Carlson. Once living comfortably in the shadows of the mainstream, he has been subject to multiple terminations.
Even though his show received the highest ratings, Fox pulled the plug. But from that defeat he was reborn — no longer just a broadcaster, but the conscience of the movement.
Despite previously largely avoiding the Israel issue, his shift accelerated after October 7. Now he interviews critics of Israel, violently warns against invasion of Iran, criticizes “Christian Zionists” as if infected with a “brain virus,” and amplifies what mainstream media considers controversial voices.
Nick Fuentes and his Groypers, young, irreverent and unapologetic nationalists, stormed the gates.
De-platformed but resilient, Fuentes’ profile skyrocketed in 2025, and his message of Christian America and skepticism about foreign influence resonated despite intense criticism. Sitting down with Mr. Carlson exploded elite ultra-Zionist neocon circles, but the Groyper family’s influence only grew.
Candace Owens channeled cultural outrage, questioned the official story of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, linked Epstein’s web to espionage, and questioned why America bleeds in distant conflicts while Christians suffer in silence.
In Congress, Thomas Massie stood undaunted, voting against aid to Israel, defying Trump’s vicious attacks and major threats, and supporting Epstein’s fight for transparency with libertarian iron.
Marjorie Taylor Greene’s break was the deepest. Once Trump’s most ardent defender – “I gave him my loyalty free of charge” – she refused to budge on the Epstein revelations.
Speaking from the House chamber surrounded by victims, Trump said: “I was called a traitor by the man I fought for six years…Traitors are Americans who serve foreign countries and their country. Patriots serve the United States and the American people, just like the women standing behind me.” Trump labeled her a “traitor” and withdrew his support.
Chapter 4: Shadows that feed the flames
Among the America First rebels, who are often stigmatized as extremists but advocate nationalism rather than hatred, dissatisfaction has coalesced around perceived Israeli excesses.
They reject the “greatest ally” mantra and believe that influence can be gained through donations and coerced through defamation. Americans are drowning in debt while warmongering Prime Minister Netanyahu’s list of enemies (Saddam threatened Israel, so Iraq, then whispers of Iran).
It puts Israel’s interests above the plight of besieged Christians overseas, including in Iraq, Syria, Gaza, the West Bank, and Armenia.
Taking the red pill exposed them to dark ideas and facts that they were unable to learn.
– Epstein is not just a looter, but an Israeli intelligence agent, extortion operations carried out in connection with the Mossad, visits to Ehud Barak, funding pipelines, etc.
– Trump and Epstein’s relationship, which surfaced at a Mar-a-Lago soiree with an underage “recruit” provided by Ghislaine Maxwell, turned out to be much deeper than a casual acquaintance. In 2011, Epstein gloated: “That dog that didn’t bark was Trump…[The victim]spent hours with Trump at my house. Trump was never mentioned.” By 2019, he told Michael Wolfe, “Of course he knew about the girls.”
– The vulgarity of their trajectory was made clear in a 2018 exchange in which Putin asked if he had a photo of President Trump “blowing Baba[Bill Clinton],” while Epstein himself threatened reporters with an offer: “Do you want one of the pictures of Donald[Trump]and girls in bikinis in my kitchen?”
– The assassination of Charlie Kirk (officially a lone leftist gunman) in September 2025 generated tweets of threats over his recent deviations from pro-Israel orthodoxy.
– John F. Kennedy was assassinated as a result of part of the Dimona nuclear attack.
– The USS Liberty was intentionally attacked by Israel to involve the United States in Israel’s war against Arab countries.
– Jonathan Pollard stole America’s top secrets for Israel.
– 9/11’s “Dancing Israelis”, Israeli foreknowledge of the attacks, Israeli “art student” spies, Urban Moving Systems, PTECH, PNAC neocons leading America towards clean break war against Israel’s enemies.
– Zionists like “Lucky Larry” Silverstein profited enormously from the deaths of Americans after the attack. He took control of the WTC towers shortly before the attack, conveniently providing insurance against terrorism.
Epilogue: The last scene on the farm
Trump’s promise of transparency and promise to “drain the swamp” was one of the reasons many people voted for him. But those promises have fallen apart.
He focuses so much time and energy on foreign policy that he ignores the economic struggles and daily needs of ordinary Americans.
His talk about UAP disclosure was replaced by silence. The JFK files remain redacted under the guise of “diplomatic relations.” And while Epstein’s list has been delayed and is now being sent to Epstein’s desk with a national security loophole under Attorney General Pam Bondi, that signal is too little, too late.
As Congress presses ahead with exposing Epstein – a near-unanimous vote that President Trump is about to sign as confirmation plummets – the air of capitulation rings hollow. Editing rights remain. The “national security” shield still exists.
Many of his past supporters came to hate him even more than Democrats because the Democratic Party never promised to “drain the swamp” or put America First. The most serious was his betrayal.
No wonder his popularity collapsed and his party stumbled in the November elections. Looking ahead, there is a risk that the 2026 midterm elections will punish divisions with reprimands outside the fiscal year. And in the long run, MAGA as a unifying force will decline as the power of its founders weakens and they put Israel first.
Still, something endures. The America First impulse, skeptical of empire and jealous of sovereignty, may outlive Brando because many of its adherents, like Fuentes, are still young and energetic. However, that energy can be corrupted.
Like the final scene of Animal Farm, pigs and humans play cards together, indistinguishable. Trump authorized the merger. Israel concluded the agreement in the eyes of a disillusioned people.
The farce is over. It’s time to burn old icons. MAGA caps only add fuel to the fire that now pretends to be raging.