By Sabrina Rodriguez

GRAPEVINE, Texas -- Republicans for National Renewal, a right-wing group attending this year's Conservative Political Action Conference, was able to encapsulate the biggest question facing the party by conducting an informal poll using jars of beans.

At the group's booth, volunteers asked CPAC attendees to drop a bean in one of two Mason jars: Yes, they support the war in Iran; or no, they don't.

By early Friday afternoon, the "yes" jar was slightly more full.

This was just one of the ways President Trump's decision to go to war with Iran loomed over the annual CPAC gathering, known for hosting thousands of the country's most steadfast conservatives. The confab has often served as a sort of MAGA pep rally, with near universal support of Trump and his agenda. This year -- from the bean poll to event speakers who were uneasy about the war to rigorous debate between attendees -- the conference laid bare the rift in Trump's MAGA base over the Middle East conflict, which has no end in sight.

On the first day, Mercedes Schlapp, a CPAC leader, moderated a panel featuring women who were attacked by the Iranian regime. "We've got to make Iran free again, and we are going to make sure America stands strong by their side," Schlapp said at the end of the panel. Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran's last shah, who lives in the U.S. and has backed Trump's military intervention, is expected to speak at the conference Saturday.

Dozens of Iranian Americans cheered and chanted in support of Trump's military campaign in Iran as they walked through the halls of CPAC. Draped in Persian flags, many stopped to take photos with attendees and filmed videos as they called for regime change and yelled: "Thank you, Trump!"

But Maxwell Eckhardt, 22, shook his head as the chants drowned out a conversation he was having with his classmates from Grand Valley State University in Michigan.

"What happened to America First? Why aren't we paying attention to what's going on here?" Eckhardt asked, expressing his opposition to the war in Iran. "I hate it when we get involved in this other stuff, just because we're spending a ton of money on it."

His friend, Jasper Gugino, 21, agreed that Trump needs to focus more on domestic issues, but he said he was more optimistic Trump would resolve the war quickly. "I'm kind of giving him the benefit of the doubt for the time being," he said.

John Kent, treasurer of Republicans for National Renewal, said the bean poll led to an observable pattern: Older attendees seemed to back the war, with younger attendees, particularly men, expressing more skepticism. He cautioned that it was an unscientific poll, and he said he caught some antiwar attendees putting in several beans.

Toby Blair, 19, and Shashank Yalamanchi, 21, were among the young attendees who placed their beans in the "no" Mason jar. Yalamanchi said he voted for Trump in 2024, in part, because he vowed to promote peace and avoid new military interventions. He was most concerned about the White House's rationale for going to war, expressing worry that the U.S. did so because of pressure from Israel.

"I don't think the American people have gotten a coherent narrative yet, " said Yalamanchi, a law student at the University of Florida.

Blair, a student at the University of South Florida, agreed, adding: "I don't know that as Americans...that worrying about regime change or what another country is doing is our job."

This year's gathering in the Dallas area -- the first CPAC meeting that Trump is skipping in a decade -- stands in contrast to just a year ago, when Trump was feted by CPAC attendees shortly after the start of his second term in the White House.

Most polls since the start of the U.S.-Israel bombing campaign find that the U.S. involvement is unpopular, with about 55% or more of voters opposing Trump's decision to go to war. In a recent NBC News survey, 90% of Republicans who consider themselves part of Trump's MAGA movement supported military action against Iran. Among non-MAGA Republicans, 54% supported the U.S. attack.

Many speakers, including politicians and media figures, showered Trump and his administration with praise throughout the convention. Even when they expressed skepticism on Iran, many called for unity against Democrats in the midterms.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, now host of a show on One America News Network, said he had reservations about U.S. involvement in Iran and urged against troops on the ground.

"A ground invasion of Iran will make our country poorer and less safe," Gaetz said. "It will mean higher gas prices, higher food prices, and I'm not sure we would end up killing more terrorists than we would create in Iran."

He added: "At the end of the day, we indeed must stick together, and indeed we must reject where the left is taking us."

A former Trump adviser, Steve Bannon, spoke out against military action in Iran during a live recording of his podcast "Bannon's War Room" in the middle of the CPAC exhibit hall.

"The Middle East is a sideshow, right, and we should come home, correct?" he said, prompting some to yell "yes" and cheer.

He later told attendees that they should have Trump's back -- but that they first need to be convinced war is the right call.

Blair and Yalamanchi -- speaking as Bannon was recording his podcast within earshot -- said they aren't optimistic about Republicans' chances in the midterms because they don't think the party is focusing on the economic issues that really matter to Americans.

"Our politicians have been silent on housing. They've been silent on jobs, which we were already getting screwed on, and now with AI, we're going to get more screwed on," Yalamanchi said. "I don't think Republicans have their eye on the goal."

Write to Sabrina Rodriguez at sabrina.rodriguez@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 27, 2026 22:00 ET (02:00 GMT)

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