Donald Trump has praised Israel’s sweeping military operation targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities and military leaders, and Republicans have already started taking up positions as faithful cheerleaders.
Shortly after the strikes in Iran were first reported Thursday evening, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham had his own sickening message of support for Israel. “Game on. Pray for Israel,” he wrote in a post on X Thursday, summoning a wave of critics condemning his rhetoric about the deadly strikes.
Republican Senator Jim Risch, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also shared his support for Israel’s strike in a post on X.
“We stand with Israel tonight and pray for the safety of its people and the success of this unilateral, defensive action. I am also praying for the brave U.S. service members in the Middle East who keep America safe—Iran would be foolish to attack the United States,” the post read.
Risch did not extend wishes of safety to Iranian civilians, after several were killed in Israel’s attacks on residential buildings. Risch was one of several lawmakers behind the recent Stand with Israel Act, which would bar the U.S. from funding any U.N. agency that suspends, downgrades, or expels Israel over its catastrophic military campaign in Gaza.
On Friday morning, House Speaker Mike Johnson jumped to Israel’s defense over its unprecedented strike, and blamed Iran for bringing the action on itself by refusing nuclear disarmament. “Israel decided it needed to take action to defend itself. They were clearly within their right to do so,” he wrote in a post on X. “Iran will face grave consequences if it responds by unjustifiably targeting U.S. interests.”
Texas Senator Ted Cruz was also on defense, and compared people who criticized Israel’s strike to terrorists. In a post on X, former Obama deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes wrote, “This is all so unnecessary. All of it. Everywhere.” Cruz reposted, adding, “You forgot to add ‘death to Israel’ and ‘death to America.’”
Between 2019 and 2024, Cruz received a whopping $562,593 from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and its members, and has received more than $1.8 million from pro-Israel PACs between 1990 and 2024, according to OpenSecrets.
Representative Don Bacon, who received $697,837 from AIPAC in 2024, did his paid gig as Israel’s spokesperson by simply reposting from Israel’s official X account. “When someone threatens to annihilate you – you better believe them. When they build weapons of mass death – stop them,” the post read.
The post “Game On”: Republicans in Congress Celebrate Israel’s Attack on Iran appeared first on New Republic.
