Trump Attacks Carlson, Kelly, Owens, and Jones Over Iran War Opposition

President Trump turned on four of his most prominent conservative media allies Thursday, unleashing a 482-word Truth Social broadside against Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones after each broke publicly with him over the now 41-day-old U.S. war in Iran.

In the post, Trump called the quartet "losers," "nut jobs," "low IQ," "stupid people," and "TROUBLEMAKERS" who run "Third Rate Podcasts," claiming without evidence that they "think it is wonderful for Iran, the Number One State Sponsor of Terror, to have a Nuclear Weapon." He was especially pointed with Carlson, writing that he "couldn't even finish college" and was a "broken man when he got fired from Fox." Trump also declared the four were no longer MAGA, writing: "MAGA is about WINNING and STRENGTH in not allowing Iran to have Nuclear Weapons."

The rupture traces to February 28, 2026, when the U.S. and Israel launched joint airstrikes against Iran under the military code name Operation Epic Fury. The surprise attacks killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and prompted Iran to retaliate with hundreds of missiles and thousands of drones across the Middle East. In the weeks that followed, all four commentators turned against Trump publicly and sharply.

Carlson urged U.S. military officials to defy the president directly, saying "Now it's time to say no, absolutely not, and say it directly to the president, no," and separately remarked, "It may be time to put Grandpa up in a home." Both Owens and Jones called for Trump's removal via the 25th Amendment. On his show, Jones said: "Trump's mad that he's wrong. He's mad that he got set up by Israel. Once a man, twice a child. This is dementia." Kelly accused Trump of gaslighting Americans to "save face" for an unpopular conflict.

The blowback extended well beyond the four targets. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a stalwart Trump ally, responded: "I fought alongside Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones to help get Trump elected. And now he goes off on a rambling rant, attacking all of us in one post. We NEVER changed — Trump did." White nationalist commentator Nick Fuentes also reacted negatively to the post. Rep. Jamie Raskin, ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, cited Trump's social media posts about Iran as evidence of unfitness for office.

The political damage is measurable. A Fox News poll found 58% of voters oppose U.S. military action in Iran, with Trump's disapproval hitting a second-term high of 59%. Republican approval slid to a second-term low of 84%, with 16% of Republicans now registering disapproval. A University of Massachusetts Amherst poll put Trump's overall approval at 33%, a new low. YouGov/Economist data showed Trump down 6 points to 76% among his 2024 voters and down 5 points to 92% among self-described MAGA supporters since the war began.

The conflict also collides directly with one of Trump's defining 2024 campaign promises: "no new wars." Conservative economist Oren Cass, a close ally of Vice President JD Vance, has raised concerns about the coalition fracture, and analysts note the erosion is particularly acute among younger MAGA voters who backed Trump specifically on that pledge.

The intelligence backdrop has complicated Trump's stated rationale further. The Defense Intelligence Agency's 2025 Worldwide Threat Assessment concluded Iran had not been actively producing a nuclear weapon, though it noted Tehran had taken steps to better position itself to do so if it chose. Trump announced a two-week ceasefire on April 7, with negotiations set to continue in Islamabad, Pakistan, but the truce remains fragile: Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately one-fifth of the world's oil passes, gives Tehran enduring leverage. With Republicans holding thin majorities in both chambers, the fracture's trajectory toward the midterms has become a central concern inside the party.