Trump’s Far-Right Supporters Turn on Him Over Syria Strike

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Some of President Trump’s most ardent campaign supporters were among his most vocal opponents on Thursday after he ordered the missile strike against Syria, charging him with breaking his promise to keep the United States out of another conflict in the Middle East.

Prominent writers and bloggers on the far right attacked Mr. Trump. They accused him of turning against his voters by waging an attack that he had for years said would be a terrible idea. They also criticized him for launching the strike without first seeking congressional approval — something he said on Twitter in 2013 would be a “big mistake.”

The most vocal in their outrage were leaders from the small but influential white nationalist movement.

Paul Joseph Watson, an editor at the conspiracy theorist site Infowars, said on Twitter that Trump “was just another deep state/neocon puppet.” He added, “I’m officially OFF the Trump train.”

Richard Spencer, a far-right activist and white nationalist who coined the term “alt-right,” said he condemned the attack and hinted at supporting another presidential candidate in 2020: Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, a Democrat. Ms. Gabbard met with President Bashar al-Assad of Syria in January and on Thursday criticized the missile strike as shortsighted and reckless.

For some on the far right, particularly those who are pro-Russia, Mr. Trump’s strike crossed a line.

But others praised the president for his quick military decision, which came three days after the Syrian government’s deadly chemical weapons attack on its own people, including children.

The radio host Hugh Hewitt said the missile launch was “justice for these children.” Mark Levin, another conservative host, agreed. “We’re proud of you,” he said of the president.

Laura Ingraham, a conservative commentator, noted that the strike brought together three frequent critics of the president — the Republican senators Marco Rubio of Florida and John McCain of Arizona, as well as his Democratic opponent last fall, Hillary Clinton.

The schism among the president’s far-right supporters had been building since Mr. Trump said his attitude toward Syria had “changed very much” after the chemical weapons attack. His comments signaled a discernible shift in White House policy, and from his stance during the presidential campaign.

Some of those supporters claimed, without evidence, that the chemical weapons attack was a hoax carried out by the “deep state” — what they believe to be a nebulous network of military officials working behind the scenes — to drag the United States into war. Scott Adams, the cartoonist who created Dilbert, wrote on his website on Thursday before the missile strike that the chemical weapons attack appeared to be a “manufactured event.”

A few hours before the missile strike, the far-right blogger Mike Cernovich warned his followers in a live video that the United States was going to attack Syria. “Remind Trump who supported him,” he told his viewers. “We got to stop him.”