Tucker Carlson and Mark Levin in front of a map of Iran

Molly Butler / Media Matters

Research/Study Research/Study

“Netanyahu-inspired action”: Right-wing media are split over whether Israel dragged the US into war with Iran

Divisions in right-wing media have exploded over the conflict, pitting “wannabe neo-Nazi influencers” against “the Mark Levins of the world”

Written by Noah Dowe & Gideon Taaffe

Research contributions from Isabella Corrao & Alyssa Tirrell

Published

As the Trump administration seemingly contradicts itself over Israel’s involvement in bringing the U.S. into war with Iran, right-wing media figures are at odds over its messaging, further exposing long-standing divisions in the conservative landscape.

Skeptics in right-wing media seized on comments made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggesting the administration entered the war because it knew “there was going to be an Israeli action,” claiming they revealed “Israel dragged us into this war” and President Donald Trump “fell in line.” Pro-war personalities have launched attacks on their peers in return, arguing these “wannabe neo-Nazi influencers” have taken “the side of the enemy” and declaring, “Nobody drags Donald Trump into anything.”

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  • The Trump administration has offered mixed messaging on whether the US was pulled into war with Iran because of Israel

    • According to The New York Times, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “determined to keep the American president on the path to war” despite ongoing negotiations with Iran. As reported by the Times, “The U.S. decision to strike Iran was a victory for Mr. Netanyahu, who had been pushing Mr. Trump for months on the need to hit what he argued was a weakened regime.” [The New York Times, 3/2/26]
    • Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on March 2 that the U.S. attacked Iran “preemptively” because they knew “there was going to be an Israeli action.” Rubio explained, “We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces. … We knew that if we didn't preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties.” [Axios, 3/3/26]
    • Trump later seemed to contradict Rubio’s comments, saying, “If anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand.” In a letter to Congress justifying the war, Trump said attacks are being carried out “in collective defense of our regional allies, including Israel.” Rubio then attempted to walk back his comments, saying, “I told you, this had to happen anyway, the president made a decision, and the decision he made was that Iran was not going to be allowed to hide behind its ballistic missile program.” [The Guardian, 3/3/26; The New York Times, 3/3/26]
    • Right-wing media have been split on supporting Trump’s war, with one side calling the Trump administration an “illegitimate regime” and the other attacking critics as “pimps for the enemy.” Fox News figures including Mark Levin, Sean Hannity, and Brian Kilmeade have praised Trump, while online commentators Nick Fuentes, Tucker Carlson, and Candace Owens have sharply criticized the war. [Media Matters, 3/2/26, 2/23/26]

  • Many in right-wing media have claimed the administration entered the war “because Israel made us do it,” with some seizing on Rubio’s comments as evidence

    • SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly argued Trump “was persuaded by Netanyahu this was a good idea.” Her guest, Blackwater founder Erik Prince, responded, “Persuaded, or coerced, or extorted, I don't know.” A day later, Kelly said it was “very clear this was a Netanyahu-inspired action,” adding, “He talked our president into it.” [SiriusXM, The Megyn Kelly Show, 3/3/26, 3/4/26]
    • Kelly lashed out at a number of other right-wing figures for supporting the war, including Fox hosts Sean Hannity and Mark Levin and CNN’s Scott Jennings. Kelly attacked Hannity as a “supplicant to Donald Trump,” suggested Jennings is a “fool” for “parroting” the administration’s line on preemptive strikes, and said the war means “the Mark Levins of the world have won.” Kelly also argued Levin was “overly excited at the fact that we were now risking American troops’ lives for Israel.” [SiriusXM, The Megyn Kelly Show, 3/2/26, 3/3/26, 3/3/26] 
    • Newsmax host Rob Finnerty said that Trump “might be looking for an off ramp” and should leave the rest to Israel, “which should not be controversial to say because we attacked Iran on Saturday because Israel was going to attack Iran first.” Finnerty continued: “That's not speculation. Marco Rubio said that himself.” The Newsmax host also called Fox News “ridiculous” for its “endless cheerleading” of the war. [Newsmax, Finnerty, 3/3/26]
    • Former Fox host Tucker Carlson declared, “The United States didn't make the decision here. Benjamin Netanyahu did.” Carlson, who reportedly met with Trump “three times in the past month to argue against an attack,” later said Netanyahu has a “hammerlock” over the U.S. government, claiming Rubio “admitted” we entered the war “because Israel made us do it.” [YouTube, The Tucker Carlson Show, 3/2/26, 3/4/26; The New York Times, 3/2/26]
    • Daily Wire host Matt Walsh said of Rubio’s comments: “It would be hard to imagine a worse line of reasoning that could be offered at a time like this.” He continued, “There are those saying that it was taken out of context, but the clip we just played was a clip posted by the White House to their social media feeds. It’s not one that we made. And he said what he said, there’s no way around it.” [The Daily Wire, The Matt Walsh Show, 3/3/26]
    • In a video titled “ISRAEL Dragged US To War, Rubio CONFIRMS,” white nationalist Nick Fuentes declared, “Israel dragged us into this war. Not a conspiracy theory. It's not speculation. It's not even a theory. It is a fact.” “You do understand that Vance’s career has to be finished after this, right? Because if it isn’t, then we are all slaves, OK? Then we are all slaves to Israel.” Fuentes also claimed the war reveals that “Israel is the boss, Israel controls our country. Now you know it for a fact.” [Rumble, America First with Nick Fuentes, 3/2/26, 3/2/26, 3/2/26]
    • On The Alex Jones Show, Fuentes called Trump’s “spin” of Rubio’s comments on Israel leading us into war “childish,” arguing, “It's just grating and insufferable. He's obviously full of it. That — there's nothing true about that at all.” Fuentes questioned, “We got a dozen warships, 50,000 soldiers, half of our Air Force, and Iran was going to start the war against us. Does that even make any sense?” Host Alex Jones agreed that we are “watching Trump self-immolate on live television.” [Infowars, The Alex Jones Show, 3/3/26]
    • Jones said “Israel is holding us hostage” and “controlling our foreign policy,” arguing, “Truly the stereotype of Israel wanting global domination and trying to control the U.S. is now a reality.” Jones complained, “When Israel hit last Saturday morning, U.S. time, we were brought into the war. And they've got the Israel propaganda brigade out all over the internet when you say that, saying you're antisemitic, you're a traitor. Well, the Secretary of State Marco Rubio just said it in a press conference yesterday. This is a fact. … So we hit them with our ally, with our weapons. We hit them first and then they're terrorists when they shoot back. I mean, just, it just – it's gaslighting, folks, OK?” [Infowars, The Alex Jones Show, 3/3/26, 3/3/26] 
    • Right-wing influencer Amrou Fudl, known online as Myron Gaines, attacked “Marco Jewbio,” with his brother, Ryad Fudl, claiming he “inadvertently admitted that the United States is fighting only for Israel.” [Rumble, MyronGainesX, 3/3/26; Mediaite, 12/22/25]
    • White nationalist podcaster Stew Peters: “Israel was attacking Iran, so Trump fell in line and did what he was told, which was to attack Iran.” He also said, “The United States at this point is nothing more than the military arm of the Talmudic tricksters of Tel Aviv.” [Rumble, The Stew Peters Show, 3/4/26; Media Matters, 3/13/23]
    • Podcaster Tim Pool argued that Rubio “just said the quiet part out loud. Israel has been begging for this war, and the U.S. and Trump, they were trying to avoid it.” Pool added, “It seems the most probable reason is because Israel has wanted to go to war with Iran for a long time and told the U.S. we will do it with or without you.” [Rumble, Timcast IRL, 3/4/26]
    • Right-wing author Brandon Weichert told War Room host Steve Bannon, “I think the president was following Netanyahu's lead on this.” Weichert said, “I think the president and Netanyahu really believed — and I think the president was following Netanyahu’s lead on this — that hey if you kill — if you whack Khamenei, the whole regime will fall like a house of cards, because that's what the Israelis think.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 3/3/26]
    • Flagrant podcast host Andrew Schulz said that “the only reason it looks like we're in there is just because Israel needs it.” He continued, “Naturally, Americans are furious about it. Right? Because we're like how the fuck does this benefit me? I can't afford to pay for college. I can't buy a home. I can't pay for health insurance, and we're going to spend billions of dollars on a war in a country I can't even point out on a map.” [YouTube, Flagrant, 3/4/26] 

  • Other right-wing personalities have lashed out at these critics for going “after our alliance with Israel,” declaring that this is “President Donald J. Trump’s war”

    • Newsmax host Rob Schmitt criticized Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly for suggesting “Israel controls everything, including our president,” arguing, “Nobody controls this man.” Schmitt continued, “No thinking person believes that Rubio indicated that Israel forced the United States into a war. We already had an entire armada poised right outside of Iran.” [Newsmax, Rob Schmitt Tonight, 3/3/26] 
    • The Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro attacked Kelly and Carlson, arguing, “You know whose war this is? President Donald J. Trump's war.” Shapiro called Kelly an “unbelievable coward” for claiming “it's Israel's war.” He also said of Carlson, “Tucker wants to claim that Donald J. Trump is a tool of the Jews, which is clearly what he wants to say, he should just say it, but he's a coward. Not only is he a coward, he's a disseminator of absolute lies.” [The Daily Wire, The Ben Shapiro Show, 3/3/26, 3/3/26]
    • Fox News host Mark Levin raged at Kelly on his radio show, calling her “an enemy within,” a “dumb blonde,” and a “Jew hater” for going “after our alliance with Israel.” Levin continued, “She has her head up Tucker Carlson's ass 100%. She's trying to ride his podcast numbers. … Tucker Carlson took the side of the enemy. Megyn Kelly took the side of the enemy.” He also commented, “We haven't heard much from bloated Bannon. He’s too busy trying to distract from the Epstein tapes.” [Westwood One, The Mark Levin Show, 3/2/26]
    • Trump ally Laura Loomer lashed out at “wannabe neo-Nazi influencers” like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tucker Carlson, and Nick Fuentes for claiming the U.S. entered the war because “Netanyahu said so.” Loomer continued, “It's not a coincidence that you have all these woke reich, wannabe neo-Nazi influencers and podcasters spewing the same bullshit propaganda as the Iranian regime. … And they say oh, don't call me a Nazi. Yeah. Well, fuck you. Fuck you. You don’t want to be called a Nazi? Don't act like a Nazi.” [Rumble, Loomer Unleashed, 3/3/26] 
    • Fox host George “Tyrus” Murdoch accused the media of “always taking a shot at his [Trump’s] manhood” by suggesting Israel pulled him into the war. Murdoch complained about coverage of the war, saying, “We had this major event happen, and the question was did Israel force your hand to launch these strikes? So they can't even respect him just to get an answer. … I don't think anyone was interested in when — did Israel bully you into — like, you’re just trying to always taking a shot at his manhood. Always trying to attack him.” [Fox News, The Five, 3/3/26] 
    • Fox News host Sean Hannity has repeatedly pushed back on claims that Israel “dragged” Trump into war, arguing, “Donald Trump does not do anything based on what anybody asks.” In an interview with Netanyahu, Hannity declared, “Nobody drags Donald Trump into anything.” On his radio show, Hannity further dismissed claims that Trump was pushed into war, saying, “These idiots that actually think that Donald Trump can be told what to do. I mean, when I asked Bibi [Netanyahu] the question the other night, he laughed.” Hannity later accused critics of “deep antisemitism” for arguing the war in Iran is solely in “Israel’s interest.” [Fox News, Hannity, 3/2/26, 3/4/26; Premiere Radio Networks, The Sean Hannity Show, 3/4/26, 3/4/26]
    • Former Trump FBI official and podcaster Dan Bongino: “Are you suggesting that Donald Trump is so weak of a human being and a president that Donald Trump’s getting dogwalked around by a foreign government, making him do what he doesn’t want to do?” Bongino complained, “The doomers yesterday on Rubio, Oh, I can’t believe it, Rubio said we went to war for Israel. He actually said the opposite.” [Rumble, The Dan Bongino Show, 3/3/26]
    • Fox host Laura Ingraham denied that this is “Israel’s war,” arguing “clearly the president saw an opportunity” and “decided to take preemptive action.” Ingraham admitted, “Of course the incoming that Rubio is taking on this, it’s to be expected,” adding, “They needed to clarify this.” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 3/3/26] 
    • Right-wing host Steven Crowder commented, “We shouldn’t be going to war on behalf of any other nation. A valid criticism if that was the sole case. But it wasn’t.” He blamed the controversy on the White House communications team posting a clip of Rubio “out of context” and said those “misrepresenting, I guess I should say, the premise here, are in complete agreement with the left and Democrats.” [Rumble, Louder with Crowder, 3/3/26]
    • Daily Wire host Michael Knowles argued Rubio made a “coherent argument” for striking Iran, adding that those who are “surprised” by the war “were not paying attention.” Knowles explained, “So the notion that, you know, Israel gave us the heads up and said hey, look, we're going in. Do what you want. … It obviously wasn't just that, because that wouldn't explain the massive and gradual military buildup in the Gulf for the past two months.” [The Daily Wire, The Michael Knowles Show, 3/3/26]