This story was updated Wednesday, June 25, 2025, to add Israel-related comment by Greene.
Whether for political reasons, military ones or both, Coastal Georgians were looking Monday at developments in the Middle East with worry.
Politically, President Donald Trump has enjoyed wide support in the region, having won the last three presidential elections in landslides. Whether — or how — a wider Middle East war might change that is unclear.
Militarily, the region is home to Fort Stewart, an Army post near Hinesville that hosts the 3rd Infantry Division, whose members would be near the top of the list of ground forces to be deployed in the Middle East in the event of an expanded conflict.
As of this writing, it was uncertain whether the ceasefire between Israel and Iran announced by President Trump late Monday would hold or whether there would be further military strikes on U.S. targets following Tehran’s attack on the U.S. Air Force base in the Gulf nation of Qatar earlier in the day.
More uncertain still was whether the confidence and enthusiasm that Republican leaders in Coastal Georgia and elsewhere in the state trumpeted following the U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities would continue and how much the skepticism and concern of Georgia’s two Democratic U.S. senators would deepen.
But in the wake of Saturday’s air raid at least, Republican leaders rallied to the president’s side.
Earlier this month, on the occasion of Trump’s birthday, Coastal Georgia Congressman Earl “Buddy” Carter described him as the “GREATEST president in history.” That adulation continued after the raid.
“I support President Trump. Peace through strength! Thank you to the brave troops who defended us and our ally, Israel,” he wrote on the social media website X, apparently referring to the crews of the seven B-2s based near Kansas City who carried out Saturday morning’s attack.
Gov. Brian Kemp, an uneasy ally of the president, thanked Trump and those officials and service personnel involved in the operation. “America can never allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon,” Kemp wrote.
For Attorney General Chris Carr and House Speaker Jon Burns of Newington, the bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities was, first and foremost, an expression of support for Israel.
Burns said that the president, in carrying out the attack, “sent the world a clear message” that the U.S. “will never in our commitment to supporting Israel.” He added: “This is what peace through strength looks like.”
Lt. Governor Burt Jones, Carr’s presumptive rival for next year’s Republican nomination for governor, swiped at former president Joe Biden:
“Iran was offered a path forward for months by a Commander in Chief who desired peace through strength. @realdonaldtrump offered peace, Iran ignored. Tonight, they saw strength. The world has grown accustomed to weakness from the White House during the past four years. No more. Once again, America says what it means and leads.” (Jones, June 21, 2025)
‘See something, say something’
Alongside their praise of the air raid, two Coastal Georgia Republican leaders spoke of possible Iranian retaliation.
Appling County’s Kandiss Taylor, a Republican candidate in next year’s race to succeed Carter as Coastal Georgia’s representative in U.S. Congress, said she was praying that Iran wouldn’t retaliate and posted a video that featured a Mr. Rogers video rejiggered to feature Toby Keith’s 9/11-era anthem, “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American).”
Beth Majeroni, chair of Ladies on the Right and former District 1 state Senate candidate, alerted readers of her page on the social media site X to the possibility of retaliatory terrorist attacks:
“In colonial times, patriots picked up muskets and joined the fight to protect America. Today, patriots are called to the same mission but with different ‘tools.’ Use your eyes and ears to look for potential terror attacks. See something, say something!”
Majeroni also praised Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (“This man’s faith in God is solid and it is that faith alone that allows God to use his gifts for the ultimate challenge. @SecDef.”)
MAGA fractures?
Leading up to Saturday morning’s raid, cracks were showing among the ranks of Trump’s MAGA supporters over the issue of foreign military intervention, with U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Rome), former Trump aide Steve Bannon, and former Fox talk show host Tucker Carlson reminding the president’s supporters of his vow to avoid “forever wars.”
Greene told the Times of London, “Americans were sick and tired of watching our men and women in uniform go all over the world and fight in wars that most Americans don’t think that our country should have been in.”
“Americans want cheap gas, groceries, bills, and housing. They want affordable insurance, safe communities, and good education for their children. They want a government that works on these issues. Considering Americans pay for the entire government and government salaries with their hard-earned tax dollars, this is where our focus should be. Not going into another foreign war.”
In an interview with former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz three days before the U.S. attack on Iran, she went on to predict that such a strike would “fracture” the MAGA movement.
Hours after the bombing, Greene took a swipe at Israel and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, signaling divisions in MAGA’s rank-and-file over Israel and foreign wars:
“Every time America is on the verge of greatness, we get involved in another foreign war. There would not be bombs falling on the people of Israel if Netanyahu had not dropped bombs on the people of Iran first. Israel is a nuclear armed nation. This is not our fight. Peace is the answer.”
Soon, however, Greene’s talk of division took a back seat to the welfare of U.S. military personnel, potential terrorist attacks in the U.S., and immigration:
“Let us join together and pray for the safety of our U.S. troops and Americans in the Middle East. Let us pray that we are not attacked by terrorists on our homeland after our border was open for the past 4 years and over 2 Million gotaways [sic] came in. Let us pray for peace.”
Not ‘art of the deal’
For the two prominent Democratic lawmakers that influence life in Coastal Georgia — U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.
Ossoff, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee who is up for reelection next year in what is expected to be the most contentious and expensive Senate race in the country, called for the administration to be “promptly and fully briefed” on the bombing mission and “consulted on the Administration’s strategy.”
Accused previously by Carter of being soft in his support of Israel, Ossoff a day earlier noted his recent request for $500 million in additional funds for joint U.S.-Israel missile defense.
In a statement, Warnock said that Trump had failed to explain why the bombing mission was necessary right now.
He continued:
“With thousands of American troops at risk for potential retaliation, this is not ‘the art of the deal.’ This is war. And this is not the first time the American people have been told that it will end quickly. The people deserve to hear more than they’ve heard so far and the constitution requires a much more serious engagement with their representatives.”
