Episode Details

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Every Fourth Turning, at least since the founding of America, has been defined by a great war: the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and World War II. When I began this Substack a few years back, the world war we might be fighting would be Iran, Russia, and China against the United States and its allies, including Israel.

It made sense then. Not so much now. That was before Putin invaded Ukraine, before October 7th, before the United States government pursued Trump like he was a war criminal, before his attempted assassination, and his second win.

Steve Bannon says we’re already fighting World War III.

Now, as Trump declares “unconditional surrender, " everyone wonders, is this it? Is this our great war?

Iran doesn’t appear to have an ally in Russia or China at the moment. Trump just met with his security advisers and will address the nation later this afternoon.

It does feel a little like the post 9/11 drumbeat for war, and we’re all still wary and fearful that it might turn into “regime change” rather than a negotiated peace. We will know what their plans are soon enough. The neocons like Lindsey Graham are prepared to go all the way.

Earlier today, Tammy Bruce spoke to the press from the State Department:

She mentions that Trump has made the same warning, that Iran can never have a nuke, over 40 times, going back to 2011. Here is that video:

Dealing with Iran has been one of the main conflicts between Trump and Barack Obama, so it’s easier to see how it started and how it’s going.

Trump’s administration is not the Bush administration. If the 2008 Wall Street meltdown was the crisis that sparked the Fourth Turning and the mission is, as Steve Bannon says, to dismantle the Deep State that took us to the $700 billion bailout, then a big war in the Middle East would fracture the MAGA coalition.

For his part, Benjamin Netanyu has said he believes Iran threatens America too, and indeed, they’ve been trying to assassinate Trump. If there is a graceful way to end the threat without getting into war, that’s the path Trump will want to take.

A MAGA Divided Cannot Stand.

MAGA is split over whether or not to aid Israel in its fight against Iran. Tucker Carlson, Alex Jones, and Marjorie Taylor-Greene are locking arms with Dave Smith and Glenn Greenwald to push back against any involvement.

Breitbart reports that members of the Squad have now joined Thomas Massie to limit Trump’s power on Iran:

From Breitbart:

While he remains the sole Republican backing such a legislative effort, several top Democrats from the far-left of the Democratic Party, including “Squad” members Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), have indicated they are signing on to the Massie proposal.

Alex Jones is opposed to any help or aid in Israel’s war, writing:

Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon discussed our involvement, with Bannon urging Trump and MAGA to keep their eye on the ball. He means to go after and dismantle the Deep State:

Raheem Kassam sums up the internal conflict well:

Ice Raids Paused, Then Unpaused

The Iran conflict is not the only dividing issue in MAGA. There is a split between those who want to support farms and hotels with their large immigrant staff, many of whom are undocumented and have worked for the companies for decades.

Versus the opposing side, who insist Trump must not back off even an inch when it comes to mass deportations. Trump listened to them and retreated from his original plan to offer a potential middle ground.