Commentary, Politics

America First Rebels Eye a Third Party

Posted on by Bill McCarthy

A group of prominent Trump skeptics has moved from public criticism to an actual meeting. Former Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tucker Carlson, outgoing Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, former National Counterterrorism Center director Joe Kent, and Greene’s new husband Brian Glenn gathered recently. Greene posted a photo from the session—reportedly at Carlson’s Maine property—on August 1 and declared that “the movement has begun.”

Who’s at the Table

Greene resigned from Congress earlier this year after repeated clashes with the administration. Carlson has left the Republican orbit entirely and said in recent interviews that he intends to help build a third party because both major parties are “in lockstep” on foreign policy and finance against ordinary Americans. Massie lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger and has long been the House’s most consistent non-interventionist. Kent resigned his post over opposition to U.S. military action involving Iran. The common thread is the view that Trump broke a core 2024 promise of no new foreign wars.

Greene’s accompanying statement was blunt: the group supported Trump because of the “no more foreign wars” pledge, but “he’s betrayed us all.” Their stated goal is an “America First” approach for right, left, and center that prioritizes domestic concerns over overseas commitments.

The Organizing Meeting

The photo shows the principals and spouses seated around a wooden table with cookies and milk visible. It is the first public image of this constellation working together after months of parallel criticism. Carlson had already signaled third-party ambitions weeks earlier. Greene had told interviewers she was “in talks” about an America-focused vehicle that could draw from both sides of the aisle. The Maine gathering is the concrete step that turned talk into a visible coordinating session.

Likelihood of Success

American third parties almost never break through. Ballot access laws, fundraising rules, media gatekeeping, and the winner-take-all Electoral College create enormous structural barriers. Ross Perot’s 1992 run remains the high-water mark in modern times; most efforts either collapse or merely act as spoilers. This group starts with significant name recognition, Carlson’s large media platform, and a coherent grievance—opposition to new Middle East entanglement and the sense that “America First” has been subordinated to other priorities. That gives it more oxygen than most vanity projects.

Still, the practical obstacles are steep. Building state party infrastructure, qualifying for ballots in 50 states, and fielding credible candidates takes years and tens of millions of dollars. A new party that draws primarily from the right risks splitting the Republican vote and handing seats or the White House to Democrats—an outcome many of its potential supporters would reject. Without a presidential candidate of genuine national stature or a broader coalition that includes disaffected Democrats and independents in measurable numbers, the effort is more likely to function as a pressure group and media platform than as a governing party.

The underlying complaint is real for a segment of the populist right: foreign policy decisions that appear to contradict earlier non-interventionist rhetoric. Whether that discontent can be organized into a durable third force, or simply remains a factional revolt inside the broader conservative ecosystem, will be tested in the coming months. History says the odds are long. The people involved are not easily dismissed.

Help American Liberty PAC in our mission to elect conservatives and save our nation. Support – American Liberty PAC