President Donald Trump’s historic decision to partner directly with America’s ally, Israel, to strike at sites across the Islamic Republic serves as a message to Americans that “America’s warnings are backed by overwhelming strength,” the chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC), Joe Gruters, explained.
Immediately following Trump’s landmark move to attack locations throughout Iran, Gruters said that the president’s moves “made clear that the Iranian regime would never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.”
As chair of the entire Republican Party, Gruters unsurprisingly contrasted Trump’s unprecedented display on American military might with the weakness of one of his predecessors: former President Barack Obama.
“The days of the United States tolerating threats from America’s enemies are over,” Gruters said. “While the Obama administration gave billions to the Iranian regime, empowering the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, President Trump is protecting America through decisive action. Operation Epic Fury sends a clear message: the United States will defend its citizens and use overwhelming force when our national security is threatened.”
The RNC’s National Press Secretary, Kiersten Pels, backed Trump’s moves as well, telling the Washington Reporter that “Operation Epic Fury shows what real American strength on the world stage looks like. President Trump doesn’t issue empty warnings — he acts.”
“Our adversaries now understand the United States will defend its people and its interests without hesitation,” Pels continued.
The full-throated support that Trump immediately received from the highest echelons of the Republican Party, embodied by Gruters, Pels, and others, come as some voices online have questioned the GOP’s staunch and longstanding support for Israel.
The Reporter will be closely monitoring the aftermath of Trump’s strikes; the mostly muted opposition that they have garnered within his party has mostly come from figures like Rep. Thomas Massie (R., Ky.), who Trump is openly working to defeat this year.
