The infighting in the Republican party over the Israel-Iran conflict continues after President Donald Trump announced on social media that he’s giving himself two weeks to decide if the U.S. is going to use military force against Iran.
MAGA-aligned lawmakers including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) do not want the U.S. to get more involved, while some more traditional Republicans including Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) are pushing for the U.S. to support the Israeli attacks and to consider launching its own strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Greene’s former House Republican colleague, former Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who is not in favor of the U.S. getting more involved, is now questioning whether defending Israel is really defending democracy.
“If Israel is a Democracy,” Gaetz commented, “when do all the Arabs who live there get to vote?”
Conservative commentator Katie Pavlich responded to Gaetz: “The ignorance of this statement is absolutely astounding. Arab-Israelis have the same voting rights as any other citizen of the country. In fact, Arab-Israelis serve in the Knesset. They’re so into democracy, Israel recently had five national elections in just two years.”
Gaetz and his producer are well known morons, at best https://t.co/PVGyLG8nvv
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) June 19, 2025
Pro-Israel former Fox News star Mark Levin replied to Pavlich: “Gaetz and his producer are well known morons, at best.”
Other conservative Republicans are replying with the opinion that Gaetz is not ignorant (or a moron as Levin writes) but manipulative.
As one replied: “Zero chance he didn’t know this but also, is he going to ask if there are any Jews voting in Iran? Oh that’s right, there are no Jews in Iran and no one AT ALL votes. What about all the other Muslim countries? How many Jews vote there?”
Mark Levin is big mad we didn’t strike Iran this week
I am supporting Trump’s push for peace https://t.co/j5st4wd7a4
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) June 19, 2025
When Gaetz replied to Levin: “Mark Levin is big mad we didn’t strike Iran this week. I am supporting Trump’s push for peace,” political pundit Michael Tracey replied with sarcasm by reposting Trump’s demand for an “unconditional surrender” by Iran and the quote, “push for peace.”
“Push for peace” pic.twitter.com/vjVB4195SU
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) June 19, 2025
The supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a televised statement said: “Intelligent people who know Iran, the nation and the history of Iran, will never speak to this nation in the language of threats, because the Iranian nation cannot be surrendered.”
He added: “The Americans should know that any U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage.”