Trump's Iran brinksmanship has lost him alt-right leader Richard Spencer

(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

published 8 January 2020

Richard Spencer is probably best known for organizing the torch-wielding "Unite the Right" white nationalist march in Charlottesville and for leading a Nazi-like salute of President-elect Trump at an "alt-right" conference in Washington. But the white nationalist faction that supports Trump has never been a fan of Trump's hawkishness in the Middle East, and after Iran retaliated Tuesday for Trump's killing of one of its most powerful generals, Spencer said he was officially off the Trump bandwagon.

A significant portion of Trump's most vocal supporters, like Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and Spencer's alt-right brethren, backed him because of his "America First" mantra, which many of them interpreted to mean withdrawing U.S. forces from the Middle East and keeping most immigrants out of America. As Trump decides how to respond to Iran's missile strikes on Iraqi bases, it's worth keeping an eye on that slice of MAGA America.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.