Washington Examiner White House reporter Naomi Lim said Monday that the Trump administration will need “more outreach” to unify the Republican coalition as it fights the Iran conflict.
President Donald Trump said Monday that “Operation Epic Fury,” the U.S. military campaign in Iran, is “going to be a short-term excursion” as he leads the country. The president made his comment as some, including commentator Tucker Carlson and journalist Megyn Kelly, are skeptical of the United States’s involvement in this conflict.
Lim said White House aides “downplay” the possibility of division on the Iran conflict. She said they echo Trump’s assessment that Operation Epic Fury “is America First,” despite some caution about the U.S. entering another foreign conflict.
“But then the numbers are sort of interesting, too. There is polling that is a little bit split in terms of whether the [Make America Great Again] base is still with him,” Lim said on C-Span’s Washington Journal.
“Obviously, there are die-hard supporters that are always with Trump, but this idea that he’s putting sort of another foreign war above the ideas of the issues that hit his supporters in their pocket, it’s really come to the fore.”
Lim noted that former Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene spoke about this frustration before and after she resigned from Congress, and that there will need to be “a little bit more outreach” if Trump wants to keep his coalition united before the 2026 elections.
Oil prices are now “50% more expensive” than before the Iran conflict began, though Trump said on Truth Social that “short-term oil prices” are “a very small price to pay” and these prices will drop once Iran’s nuclear threat is over. However, Lim said “downplaying” the cost of living has never worked for presidents of either party, citing how former President Joe Biden made a similar attempt.
TRUMP GRAPPLES WITH THE GREATEST COST OF HIS WAR IN IRAN: THE HUMAN COST
Lim said Trump is expected to be in Kentucky and Ohio this week to promote TrumpRx in a bid to lower healthcare costs, potentially opening the door to more economic messaging. Lim concluded, though, that Trump needs to address oil prices soon if he wants to do well this November.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) urged calm over the oil cost spike on Monday, saying the conflict will have “some temporary effects on our domestic economy.” Like Trump, he predicted the cost of oil would “tumble” once the conflict was over.
