CNN analyst John Miller says Trump could go down as a 'hero' after Iran strike: 'Delivered the kill shot'

WASHINGTON, DC: CNN chief law enforcement analyst John Miller mentioned on Sunday, June 22, that President Donald Trump could go down as the "hero" after launching a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.

The attack on Iran, dubbed "Operation Midnight Hammer," has been called the "largest B-2 operational strike in US history" by the Pentagon. The targets included three of Iran’s nuclear facilities — Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.

John Miller says Donald Trump could go down as a 'hero' after Iran strike

In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal about the president's decision to bomb Iran, John Miller wrote, "Trump could come out as the hero—the hitman who delivered the kill shot to the Iran threat—or as a supporting player in the final scenes of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s boldest act."

"Mr Netanyahu may go down in history not as the leader who missed the warnings of the Oct 7 attack but as the leader who delivered Israel from its three greatest threats by crushing Hamas, breaking Hezbollah, and eliminating the nuclear threat from Iran," the CNN analyst added.

Miller also wrote, "Whether or not Mr [Ali] Khamenei gave the order for development of an actual nuclear weapon, there seems to have been little disagreement in any intelligence estimate that the people working underground in places like Natanz and Fordow were getting Iran’s nuclear program ready to deliver a weapon quickly if and when that call came."

He further mentioned that reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran had "exceeded the agreed limits, quantity of uranium, enrichment levels, the number and types of centrifuges," and the continued expansion of metal compounds that are used to make missiles.

"No country without a nuclear-weapons program operates facilities buried under remote mountains and strives for faster centrifuges and more highly enriched uranium. None of that makes sense for civilian energy programs," Miller claimed. 

Donald Trump's biggest critics defend his Iran strikes

Some of Donald Trump's most vocal critics sided with the POTUS following the Iran strike over the weekend.

Former Republican Rep Adam Kinzinger of Illinois supported the MAGA leader's move. He previously broke with Trump over the January 6 insurrection and supported former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, according to Newsweek.

Kinzinger took to X (formerly Twitter) and called the strikes a "good call."

He wrote, "The US attack on the nuclear facilities is, in my opinion, the right call. We will see what the results are, but now the key is suppressing surface to surface missile fire, and then negotiate to end the fight with Iran. Good call by the President"

Similarly, John Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser turned critic, sided with the POTUS during an appearance on CNN.

He said, "I think President Trump made the right decision for America to attack Iran's nuclear weapons program, and I think we're on the verge of potentially seeing regime change in Iran as part of that."

"This is a huge change in the Middle East. Decisive action is the right thing to do. I thought somebody should do it for a long time, but better late than never," Bolton added.

Moreover, Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who challenged Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, stated that the president deserves an "enormous amount of credit" for the strikes during an interview on ABC News.

The 62-year-old said, "This is against type for him. I'm sure it was a difficult decision. I think his analysis was, he cannot live with a nuclear weapon in Iran, and Israel did all of the heavy lifting."

MAGA allies who opposed Donald Trump's Iran strike

Even though some of his critics backed him over the Iran strike, several of his key allies opposed his decision. 

Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene reacted to the strikes by urging those in the US to pray that terrorists do not attack "our homeland" in retaliation, as per The Guardian. 

She wrote in an X post, "Let us join together and pray for the safety of our U.S. troops and Americans in the Middle East. Let us pray that we are not attacked by terrorists on our homeland after our border was open for the past 4 years and over 2 Million gotaways came in. Let us pray for peace."

Similarly, Trump's former White House adviser Steve Bannon criticized the POTUS for thanking Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in a national address shortly after the strikes.

Bannon said while speaking on his War Room web show, "It hasn’t been lost … that he thanked Bibi Netanyahu, who I would think right now – at least the War Room’s position is – [is] the last guy on Earth you should thank."

Interestingly, the far-right influencer Charlie Kirk had warned of a MAGA divide over Iran, saying, "Trump voters, especially young people, supported [him] because he was the first president in my lifetime to not start a new war."

Donald Trump announces ceasefire in Iran-Israel conflict

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that a ceasefire was now in effect, soon after Iranian state-linked media announced that Tehran had fired its "last round" of missiles at Israel, according to CNBC.

Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, "THE CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT. PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT!"

Iran had launched a fresh barrage of missiles at Israel as the ceasefire deadline announced by the POTUS neared.

The ceasefire was announced after an apparent intensification of hostilities, with Iran carrying out retaliatory missile strikes at the US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Monday.

Trump thanked Tehran for notice of the offensive, per the outlet.