Establishment Republicans have backed Israel's strikes on Iran, but the crisis is forcing President Donald Trump to walk a political tightrope between the hawks in his base and the isolationists who helped sweep him to power.

Trump ran for reelection as a peacemaker who distained the foreign adventures of his predecessors, boasting that he would have little difficulty ending conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Many Trump followers see Israel's offensive as the sternest test yet of his "America First" credentials, fearing that he will allow the United States to get dragged into the hostilities.

The announcement of strikes was applauded by Mark Levin, a rightwing political analyst and longstanding Trump loyalist, who crowed: "The Iranians are about to get their asses kicked."

"They think this is Joe Biden's administration, that they would get away.... Thank God we have Donald Trump as president of the United States," he thundered on Fox........

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