Trump’s crackdown exposes the Brotherhood’s violent roots as Israel’s warnings about Islamist extremism prove prophetic.
The Muslim Brotherhood lashed out Wednesday after President Donald Trump signed an executive order initiating the process of designating several chapters of the organization as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, branding the move “detached from reality.” In its statement—quoted by the Qatar-linked outlet Middle East Eye—the Brotherhood insisted that allegations of terrorism were “unsupported by evidence,” claiming the order was “politically motivated” and unconstitutional.
But Trump’s directive, signed Monday, lays out in clear terms what many Middle Eastern nations and Israeli security officials have warned for decades: specific Brotherhood chapters in Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan have long facilitated violence, destabilization, and direct threats to American and regional security. The administration emphasized that these branches support militant campaigns harming both civilians and US interests.
Predictably, the Brotherhood deflected responsibility, accusing Trump of capitulating to “foreign pressure from the UAE and Israel.” That argument rings hollow given that Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE—three major Arab states—already classify the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization due to its documented involvement in violent insurgencies, political subversion, and ideological support for Hamas.
The organization further claimed the move “undermines US national security,” ignoring the fact that Brotherhood-linked entities in the region have repeatedly radicalized followers, exported extremist ideology, and provided the ideological backbone for Hamas and other jihadist groups targeting Israel.
Trump’s order follows Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s decision to designate both the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations in the state—an unprecedented step that bars these groups from acquiring land or operating freely. Senator Ted Cruz has long sought to push a national designation bill that could financially cripple one of the world’s most influential Islamist networks.
The Brotherhood’s outraged response only underscores the threat posed by its global ideological infrastructure. As Israel has repeatedly warned, the organization’s influence fuels radicalization, antisemitism, and terror—from Gaza to the West Bank to Western capitals. Trump’s move signals a historic shift toward confronting the root ideological drivers behind Hamas and similar extremist offshoots.
