GRAPEVINE, Texas – Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz delivered a forceful rebuke of possible U.S. military escalation in Iran during his Conservative Political Action Committee speech, warning that deeper involvement would carry significant economic and strategic consequences for Americans.
“A ground invasion of Iran will make our country poorer and less safe,” Gaetz said, arguing it would drive up gas and food prices while risking the creation of more terrorists than it eliminates.
His comments come as public opinion remains divided over U.S. involvement, not just across party lines, but increasingly within the Republican coalition. A recent Quinnipiac poll found a majority of voters oppose military action in Iran, even as most Republicans support it, while overwhelming majorities of Democrats and independents are opposed.
That divide is also emerging inside the GOP, where a more populist, noninterventionist wing has grown increasingly wary of deeper escalation, particularly when it comes to the prospect of deploying U.S. ground troops.
Drawing on past conflicts, Gaetz pointed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as cautionary examples, warning that prolonged U.S. involvement can backfire. “We stayed for decades in Iraq, and we ended up giving the country to Iran,” he said, adding that after “20 years in Afghanistan, we just ended up giving it back to the Taliban.”
He warned that similar intervention in Iran could follow the same trajectory, underscoring skepticism among some conservatives about another extended military campaign in the Middle East. While expressing trust in President Donald Trump’s leadership, Gaetz stressed the need to exhaust diplomatic options and avoid a broader conflict, saying he wants the president to have “every diplomatic tool at his disposal.”
Beyond Iran, Gaetz’s remarks highlighted growing divisions within the Republican Party over foreign policy and the U.S.-Israel relationship. He took a veiled swipe at prominent pro-Israel conservatives, criticizing what he described as a “near slavish loyalty to a country in a faraway land,” a comment that drew a contrast with other conservative figures such as Mark Levin and Ben Shapiro.
“I didn’t bring a list of people to denounce or disclaim, and antisemitism isn’t hiding around every corner and in every bush,” Gaetz said. “President Trump is a builder. He understands that politics is an exercise in addition, not subtraction and division.”
The speech also aligned Gaetz with a faction of the Right increasingly willing to challenge long-standing GOP orthodoxy on Israel and intervention abroad. He defended conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, who has faced criticism for his own views on U.S. foreign policy and Israel, telling the audience that “Tucker Carlson isn’t going anywhere” and warning against what he described as “cancel culture … on the Right” that he said gets in the way of dissent.
“I didn’t bring a list of people to denounce or disclaim, and antisemitism isn’t hiding around every corner and in every bush,” Gaetz said. “President Trump is a builder. He understands that politics is an exercise in addition, not subtraction and division. “
Earlier in the speech, he sharply criticized the Anti-Defamation League, calling it an “anti-white, anti-Christian hate group” and praising the FBI for ending cooperation with the organization.
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Gaetz’s appearance at CPAC also served as a reminder of the growing divide among conservatives over both the Iran war and the U.S. alliance with Israel. While many Republicans have rallied behind military action, a vocal faction has grown increasingly wary of deeper involvement, echoing concerns about another prolonged foreign war and its economic toll.
As host of a show on the conservative One America News Network, Gaetz has been among those arguing the U.S. has grown too close to Israel, a position that has drawn criticism from more traditional, pro-Israel Republicans and underscored the broader foreign policy rift within the GOP.