President Donald Trump ignited heavy criticism within his own MAGA camp on Monday, when reports emerged that his administration intends to penalize any U.S. state that chooses to boycott Israel.
According to a Reuters report published early Monday afternoon, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has mandated that states applying for disaster preparedness grants must comply with its “terms and conditions.”
Among those stipulations is one that bars states from discontinuing “commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies.” Failure to certify adherence would render a state ineligible for nearly $1.9 billion in vital federal aid for search-and-rescue gear, backup power systems and emergency staffing.
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That policy quickly drew backlash from some of Trump’s most outspoken supporters. Conservative commentator Candace Owens sharply criticized the move, accusing the president of tying life-saving disaster aid to fealty to a foreign state. She said he was “betraying MAGA,” and labeled the decision an “act of treason.”
In a post on the social platform X, she wrote: “Denying Americans who won’t support the genocide being conducted by your friends. Trump has fully betrayed America for Netanyahu and if you cannot see that now you are completely blind. Best 100 million Miriam Adelson ever spent.”
Conservative writer Chris Brunet wrote on X: “You can only push the American public so far[,] even Evangelicals have their limits and see this subservience as crazy.”
Conservative commentator Alexandra Lains wrote: “I’ve never seen someone tank their legacy so fast. This is not America first and anyone advising him on this should be fired. Put this man in CHECK.”
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Last week, MAGA-aligned Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) posted an extensive online message sharply denouncing what she called Israel’s harsh treatment of Palestinians and criticizing U.S. military aid for fueling overseas conflict.
“Are innocent Israeli lives more valuable than innocent Palestinian and Christian lives? And why should America continue funding this?” Greene wrote on X.
“The secular government of nuclear armed Israel has proven that they are beyond capable of dealing with their enemies and are capable of and are in the process of systematically cleansing them from the land,” she added.