Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and former Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene – once among Donald Trump’s most prominent champions – announced recently that they have left the Republican party.

Both rightwing superstars had feuded with the president throughout his second term, but their split was provoked by Trump’s war with Iran and what they viewed as his elevation of foreign affairs over domestic concerns like inflation and high gas prices. Although both have said that they will not support Democrats, their defection points to serious divisions within the Republican party that could weaken its prospects in the midterm elections and beyond.

The Republican establishment has dismissed the pair as malcontents and Trump has reviled them with his usual insults, calling Greene a traitor and Carlson a “low-IQ person”.

Other conservative commentators have claimed their critique stems from animus against Israel. Greene was the first Republican member of Congress to refer to Israel’s actions in Gaza as a “genocide”, and Carlson has charged that Trump betrayed the American people by allowing Israel to push him into going to war with Iran.

Carlson’s criticism of Israel, coming on the heels of his softball interview with the white nationalist influencer Nick Fuentes, has provoked accusations of antisemitism that he has denied.

Although Greene’s loopiness makes it difficult to take her seriously – who can forget her fulminations against “Nancy Pelosi’s gazpacho police”? – both Greene and Carlson merit consideration as potential 2028 presidential contenders. Their political strength lies in their influence with the “America first” faction of the Republican party, as opposed to the Maga faction dominated by Trump. Although Trump........

© The Guardian