NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� For President Donald Trump, some of the sharpest criticism he’s faced in the early days of has come from once-loyal media figures far more accustomed to singing his praises.
Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly and Matt Walsh are among those to express discontent. It’s been noticed in the White House, which has been playing defense on social media and in interviews.
To be sure, these critics are the minority of the media MAGAsphere, where Fox 草莓传媒’ biggest stars remain cheerleaders. But their words illustrate conservative media’s influence and how valuable it is to Trump when all runs as a well-oiled machine 鈥� and, by contrast, how much of a problem it can be if it fractures.
Much of the criticism has centered on Israel’s influence on Trump’s decision to go to war. Carlson, who has built his own independent operation, told ABC 草莓传媒 over the weekend that the attack was 鈥渁bsolutely disgusting and evil.鈥�
鈥淚t’s hard to say this, but the United States didn’t make the decision here. Benjamin Netanyahu did,鈥� Carlson said on his podcast, referring to the Israeli prime minister.
鈥楴o one should have to die for a foreign country鈥�
Kelly, another , said about American casualties on her show that 鈥渘o one should have to die for a foreign country.”
鈥淚 don’t think those service members died for the United States,鈥� Kelly said. “I think they died for Iran or Israel.鈥�
Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s remarks prior to were a flashpoint. Rubio said that Trump had given the go-ahead for the operation knowing that Israel was prepared to strike and he feared retaliation from Iran against U.S. bases in the region.
鈥淲e knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them, before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties,鈥� Rubio said. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said that if the Trump administration had not acted, lawmakers would have wondered why.
Walsh, a Daily Wire host, wrote on X that Rubio was 鈥渇lat out telling us that we’re in a war with Iran because Israel forced our hand. This is basically the worst possible thing he could have said.鈥�
The Republican president told journalist Rachael Bade in an interview that he did not believe that the opinions of Carlson and Kelly are shared by his base of supporters. 鈥淚 think that MAGA is Trump,鈥� he said. 鈥淢AGA’s not the other two.鈥�
Republican former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who has fashioned herself as an influencer and media figure since with Trump, said on Kelly’s podcast that she was furious over the U.S. military action. 鈥淢ake America Great Again,” Greene says, 鈥渨as supposed to be America first, not Israel first.鈥�
Will Trump supporters return to the fold?
Trump is probably right to think that most of his supporters will return to the fold if they’re unhappy with the Iran attack, said Jason Zengerle, author of 鈥淗ated By All the Right People: Tucker Carlson and the Unraveling of the Conservative Mind.鈥� Given the consistency of his views on the topic, Carlson is probably the most important of Trump’s conservative critics, Zengerle said.
鈥淚f the war does go badly, I think it strengthens the hand of someone like Tucker,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ll of this is a debate about what happens after Trump is gone anyway.鈥�
Carlson was at the center of a controversy last fall over antisemitism in conservative media for giving attention to polarizing influencer Nick Fuentes with an interview on Carlson’s podcast. Fuentes has called Adolf Hitler 鈥渃ool,鈥� suggested there is a genocide against white people and said his young followers are 鈥渢ired of hearing about slavery and the Holocaust.鈥�
There have been cracks in Trump’s conservative media support prior to Iran, notably with the vast and sprawling narratives around . But this week’s criticism unleashed some startling internal vitriol. Ben Shapiro, of 鈥淭he Daily Wire,鈥� called Kelly 鈥渨ildly inconsistent鈥� and a coward. Elisabeth Hasselbeck denounced Kelly for her suggestion that American servicemen died for Israel. 鈥淗ow dare you?鈥� Hasselbeck said Tuesday on 鈥淭he View.”
Fox 草莓传媒’ Sean Hannity said that Carlson was 鈥渘ot the person I knew when he was at Fox.鈥� Kelly denounced Hannity as a supplicant who 鈥渨ould never say anything other than to puff Donald Trump up.鈥�
It’s worth remembering that most of what readers and viewers are seeing in conservative media supports Trump. Howard Polskin, publisher of The Righting newsletter, estimated Tuesday that about 95% of what he’s monitored on websites is behind the president. 鈥淭rump Stands Tall on Iran,鈥� headlined The American Spectator.
The most popular personalities on Fox 草莓传媒 鈥� still the top dog among conservatives 鈥� continue to be supportive. Hannity, Brian Kilmeade and Mark Levin were among the most vociferous leading up to the attack and after. 鈥淭he president has shown more courage, and this Pentagon, Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon, has executed brilliantly once again,鈥� said Kilmeade, the 鈥淔ox & Friends鈥� co-host.
鈥淚 think that MAGA gives him the benefit of the doubt, no question about it,鈥� Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary during the early part of Trump鈥檚 first term, said on his podcast Tuesday. 鈥淚 think he鈥檚 built up a ton of credibility with the base. … Look, you鈥檝e got PTSD from a lot of our former leaders between Iraq and Afghanistan in particular, who only know forever wars, and so I get it. But this president has proven now twice that he knows what he鈥檚 doing.鈥�
Criticism of war rollout draws specific White House rebuke
who helped to drive many young men into Trump’s camp during the 2024 campaign have been largely quiet.
Some of Walsh’s criticism this week appeared to sting so much that it drew a specific rebuke from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
鈥淪o far we鈥檝e heard that although we killed the whole Iranian regime, this was not a regime change war,鈥� Walsh wrote on Monday. 鈥淎nd although we obliterated their nuclear program, we had to do this because of their nuclear program. And although Iran was not planning any attacks on the U.S., they also might have been, depending on who you ask. And although we are not fighting this war to free the Iranian people, they are now free, or might be, depending on who seizes power, and we have no idea who that will be. The messaging on this thing is, to put it mildly, confused.鈥�
Leavitt posted a lengthy response on X explaining Trump’s rationale. 鈥淪imply put,” she wrote, 鈥渢he terrorist Iranian regime would not say yes to peace.鈥�
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Kinnard reported from Washington.
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