A band of Donald Trump’s most prominent right-wing critics have joined forces to tease a new political movement after accusing the president of betraying them.
The likes of Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Thomas Massie and former Trump counter-terrorism chief Joe Kent gathered at Carlson’s cabin in Maine on Saturday.
All four were once firm allies of Trump but appear to have since turned against him for various reasons, chiefly the Iran
Sharing a picture from the meeting online, Greene wrote: ‘We said no more foreign wars, and we meant it and supported Donald Trump because he made that promise.
‘But he’s betrayed us all. Our commitment is America First for all Americans, right, left, and center. The movement has begun.’
The group hasn’t formally announced a new political party or revealed what shape the movement could take. But their conspicuously staged gathering has fuelled speculation about a fresh organisation aimed at voters who believe Trump has abandoned his ‘America First’ agenda.
Former Fox News host Carlson sat at the head of a wooden table as the group posed with matching mugs and a plate of cookies.
An American flag stood in the corner, vintage weapons hung from the walls and a chandelier made from deer antlers dangled overhead.
They were joined by Greene’s new husband, Brian Glenn, as well as Massie’s wife, Carolyn Grace Moffa. Massie reposted the picture with the tongue-in-cheek caption: ‘This meeting will not be televised.’
That joke came despite the gathering taking place where Carlson records his hugely popular podcast. So although the meeting may not have been televised, the very public photograph meant it wasn’t exactly secret either.
Greene, Carlson, Massie and Kent have all criticised Trump over the war in Iran.
Their opposition revolves around claims that the conflict broke the president’s campaign commitment to keep the US out of further foreign wars. That non-interventionist message formed a prominent part of Trump’s campaign during the 2024 election.
Kent resigned as director of the National Counterterrorism Center in March because he opposed the conflict. He appeared on Carlson’s show shortly afterwards to explain his decision and criticise the administration’s case for military action.
Greene and Massie had already rather publicly fallen out with Trump over the release of government files connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
They supported efforts to force the Department of Justice to disclose the material, placing them on the wrong side of an increasingly bitter dispute with the sitting POTUS.
Trump subsequently branded Greene a ‘traitor’ and turned his political operation against Massie. Greene resigned from Congress in January as her relationship with her former ally continued to collapse.
Massie, a seven-term Kentucky congressman, was defeated in May’s Republican primary by Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein. The retired Navy SEAL and farmer won after the president’s team made removing Massie a political priority.
As well as the Epstein dispute, Massie opposed Trump’s signature tax and spending legislation.
Some figures on the right welcomed the apparent anti-Trump rebellion. Controversial radio host Alex Jones called those in the photo ‘a great group of Americans’, while another supporter declared: ‘The Avengers have assembled.’
Others within the MAGA movement were considerably less impressed with it all.
Right-wing activist and Trump devotee Laura Loomer demanded that all seven people in the picture be placed on a government watch list.
She added: ‘Every person in this photo is a traitor to America and an anti-Trump operative amplified by foreign adversaries.’
Meghan McCain, the daughter of late Republican senator and former presidential candidate John McCain, went in a rather different, more amusing, direction with her response.
She asked: ‘Why does everyone in this photo look like they’re at Patricia’s Sunset Cocktails?’
Podcaster Walter Kirn, meanwhile, challenged Greene’s credentials to lead the revolt. He wrote: ‘You quit Congress in the middle of your term to get married in Vegas and go on a media tour. ‘Why would anyone look to you as the leader of a movement?’
Greene married Glenn in a private ceremony in Las Vegas last week.
Whether the Maine gathering produces an actual party remains unclear, but the picture has made one thing fairly obvious: Trump’s former supporters-turned-detractors aren’t planning on keeping quiet about their misgivings.
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