Trump’s inner circle cracks as his biggest ‘success’ becomes a failure

Donald Trump’s latest foreign policy flex—Operation Midnight Hammer, the June 2025 airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure—was meant to be the cherry on the “America First” cake.

Instead, it’s become the pitfall that cracks his MAGA mirror. The fallout? Tulsi Gabbard was conspicuously absent from a Capitol Hill briefing, and the administration’s shiny self-portrayal is peeling like bad spray paint.

Gabbard vs. Trump: nuclear showdown 2.0

Gabbard, a former anti-war Democratic congresswoman, was initially at odds with Trump—publicly questioning how close Iran was to building a nuclear weapon, directly contradicting Trump’s alarmist warnings.

After Trump suggested she was wrong, she later recalibrated and expressed reserved support for the June strikes. A leaked Defense Intelligence Agency assessment suggested the damage would set Iran back only months, not years or decades.

Turns out, Gabbard’s skepticism seems to have earned her a spot in the Trump Cold Shoulder Hall of Fame. She was initially slated to brief senators, but was absent.

Meanwhile, defenders like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA Director Ratcliffe called the leak a politically motivated smear and commenced an FBI hunt for those perpetrators.

Chaos in the Briefing Room

The secret briefing became a circus. Gabbard absent, Ratcliffe, Hegseth, and Secretary of State Rubio held court amid intense partisan sparring. Democrats like Chuck Schumer and Chris Murphy demanded transparency, war-powers compliance, and expressed deep distrust in the intel, not exactly the smooth PR Trump hoped for. A House war‑powers resolution is looming, though probably dying in the GOP-controlled Senate.

The real takeaway

Trump’s narrative of decisive military prowess took a hit. His intel community leaked a sobering reality: the strike didn’t obliterate—they temporarily interrupted. Congress is unhappy, leaks are roasting national security, and allies are mum. Gabbard’s ejection from the briefing symbolically amplifies the fracture: Trump’s inner circle can’t even agree whether this was a win or a spin job.

He markets it as pure victory. The leaked DIA report says it’s lukewarm at best. Tulsi Gabbard? She’s gone from cheerleader to outcast—all because she dared to humanity-check the hype. Stay tuned: as leaks multiply and senators poke holes in the narrative, Trump’s “biggest success” is hurting harder than a bunker‑buster in a dip.