President Donald Trump continues to remind his ranks that “America First” is whatever he wants it to be.

Trump’s decision on Monday to reverse course on Ukraine and send additional weapons to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s military further riled up the “America First” faction of his base, which is witnessing its perceived influence within the Oval Office rapidly shrink.

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Defense Department spokesman Sean Parnell even went so far as to place Ukraine aid within the aegis of the “America First” movement: “Our framework for POTUS to evaluate military shipments across the globe remains in effect and is integral to our America First defense priorities.”

Just last week, Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby, often credited as the brains behind “America First” foreign policy, paused weapons shipments to Ukraine for a very “America First” reason: Certain weapons stockpiles in the U.S., Colby believed, were running low. Other administration officials were caught off guard — some suggested Secretary of State and national security adviser Marco Rubio hadn’t been consulted.

Many in the MAGA mediasphere had fooled themselves into thinking “America First” is a platform independent of the president’s whims. Tucker Carlson attempted to draw a red line around what the phrase meant immediately following the Iran strikes, warning that “politicians purporting to be ‘America First'” couldn’t “credibly turn around and say they had nothing to do with it.”

Trump blasted Carlson’s insubordination, in the Atlantic, no less, and then proceeded to literally blast Iran.

For Carlson and other “America First” influencers, including Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and podcaster Jack Posobiec, rebooted Ukraine support could be the breaking point. The U.S. strikes on Iran strained their loyalties, but the alacrity and success of the mission caused these influencers to scurry back under the Trump tent.

Ukraine is a different matter. The influencers are on record calling the Ukraine war a money-laundering scheme and a “globalist” pretext for World War III — and their massive audiences believe them. It will be impossible for these influencers to accept Ukraine aid publicly and maintain credibility with their followers.

The Trump administration’s pronouncement that Jeffrey Epstein really died by suicide strained the bonds of affection. Ukraine aid could snap them.

It’s worth wondering how Trump’s own second-in-command is absorbing the move. Vice President JD Vance is on record many times rejecting U.S. involvement in Ukraine using explicit “America First” terms.

In 2022, Vance told Steve Bannon, the original “America First” influencer, “I’ve got to be honest with you, I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another.”

In May 2024, Vance said during a speech, “I do not think that it is in America’s interest to continue to fund an effectively never-ending war in Ukraine. We’ve done more than our fair share.”

TRUMP VOWS TO SEND MORE WEAPONS TO UKRAINE DAYS AFTER FREEZING SHIPMENT

Thanks to his Oval Office dressing down of Zelensky over insufficient gratitude, Vance’s position on Ukraine is perhaps the issue for which he is best known. The moment cemented the vice president’s status as the darling of the “America First” cohort.

But if even he has little sway over Trump’s working definition of “America First,” what power does the movement have at all?