Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., said Friday he's not concerned at all about the criticism aimed at the Trump administration over the Israel-Iran conflict as he trusts President Donald Trump "to lead this country to peace."
"I'm not concerned at all, and the reason being — unlike the previous administration, where a 25-year-old intern in an autopen was running the government for four years — we have an actual leader in charge and his name is Donald Trump," Van Orden told Newsmax's "Newsline."
"Tulsi Gabbard is a rock star. And the comment that you're referring to where Donald Trump said that he didn't like what she said, that was during a campaign. He firmly expressed his confidence in Tulsi Gabbard ... and she has my confidence also," he said.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.; commentator Tucker Carlson; conservative Charlie Kirk, and their followers are pointing out Trump's 2024 promises to resist overseas military involvement after a week of deadly strikes and counterstrikes between Israel and Iran and discussion of U.S. involvement.
On social media and their popular airwaves, questions about Trump's stance are exposing a vulnerability. They are also warning that the schism could deter progress on other priorities.
Any option comes with political risk for Trump, who, as he returned to Washington, expressed exasperation at Iranian leaders' failure to reach an agreement.
Van Orden said there is no fracture.
"We have some people that are well intended that are just simply wrong. And you can't be a fair-weather MAGA person. So I trust Donald Trump to lead this country to peace.
"We want peace through strength. We do not want boots on the ground. We do not want to have an endless war. We want to make sure that the terrorist regime in Iran is incapable of producing a nuclear weapon,” he added.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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