Trump's foreign policy is testing once-unwavering MAGA base

Military strikes, visas, peace deals rankle 'America first' stalwarts

- BY ANA CEBALLOS

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump was unapologetic about putting America first. He promised to secure the nation's borders, strengthen the domestic workforce and be tough on countries he thought were taking advantage of the United States.

Now, 10 months into his second term, the president is facing backlash from some conservatives who say he is too focused on matters abroad, whether it’s seeking a change of governments in Venezuela, brokering peace deals in Ukraine and Gaza or extending a $20-billion currency swap for Argentina.

The criticism has grown in recent days after Trump expressed support for granting more visas to foreign students and skilled immigrant workers.

The cracks in the Make America Great Again movement, which have been more pronounced in recent weeks, underscore how Trump's once impenetrable political base is wavering as the president appears to embrace a more global approach to governing.

"I have to view the presidency as a worldwide situation, not locally," Trump said last week when asked to address the criticism at an Oval Office event. “We could have a world that’s on fire where wars come to our shores very easily if you had a bad president.”

For backers of Trump's MAGA movement, the conflict is forcing some to weigh loyalty to an “America first” ideology over a president they have long supported and who, in some cases, inspired them to get involved in the political process.

“I am against foreign aid, foreign wars, and sending a single dollar to foreign countries,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who in recent weeks has become more critical of Trump’s policies, said in a social media post Wednesday.

“I am America First and America Only. This is my way and there is no other way to be.”