Iran_RWM

Molly Butler / Media Matters

Research/Study Research/Study

How right-wing and right-leaning media are split on the Iran war

Some characterize Trump’s actions as “insane”; others urge the president to “finish the job”

Written by Jack Winstanley & Noah Dowe

Published

Right-wing and right-leaning media remain sharply divided on President Donald Trump’s war with Iran as the conflict passes the two-month mark, with many figures either slamming the president for his “insane” conduct or arguing that continued hostilities are “far more important than just politics.” Some figures are even criticizing each other for their positions on the war.

As polling reveals that both Trump and his war are deeply unpopular among the American public, some figures on the right are panicking about “the GOP’s already bleak chances in the midterms” and arguing that “a huge number of [Trump] supporters who definitely believed him that there wouldn't be another war ... feel deeply betrayed by this.” In contrast, the conflict's supporters have called on the president to “finish what we started,” accusing the war's detractors of “rooting for terrorists” and “trying to destroy Trump.”

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  • Background

    • Trump’s war with Iran has reached a critical 60-day window despite the administration’s initial promises that it would last only a few weeks. At the onset of hostilities, Trump stated that the war would only take “four to five weeks,” though he and his administration have frequently changed their timeline. The War Powers Resolution allows the president as commander in chief to engage in hostilities with congressional notice for a period of 60 days before the law requires Congress to authorize continued military action. [CBS News, 4/30/26; PBS, 4/21/26]
    • Right-wing and MAGA media figures were deeply divided over the war at its start, with some heralding the conflict as “humane” and others describing it as “absolutely disgusting and evil.” A number of notable podcasters and conservative figures sharply criticized the administration, slamming the attacks as an “illegal war of aggression,” while others attacked the war’s critics as “traitors” showing “unbelievable cowardice.” [Media Matters, 3/2/26]
    • In early April, Trump lashed out at multiple conservative commentators for their critiques of the war, calling them “stupid people” who are “not ‘MAGA.’” In a Truth Social post, Trump singled out notable right-wing media figures Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Megyn Kelly, and Alex Jones for their criticism of the war. [NBC News, 4/9/26]
    • Recent polling indicates that the war is extremely unpopular among the American public, and Trump’s approval rating has declined since its onset. An NBC poll conducted in early April found that only 33% of the public approve of the conflict, with 67% disapproving; the same poll places Trump’s approval rating only marginally higher at 37%, with 63% disapproving. A Reuters/Ipsos poll from late April likewise revealed that only 34% of Americans approve of the war, with Trump’s general job performance also at 34% approval. Polling aggregation by The New York Times has additionally found Trump’s approval dropping by 2% since the start of the war, with his economic approval hitting “a new low of 31 percent, a drop of eight percentage points in only two months.” [Reuters, 4/28/26; NBC News, 4/19/26; The New York Times, accessed 4/30/26]
    • Trump has urged his social media followers to “Watch Mark Levin” on Fox News discuss the war. Trump also reportedly consulted about the war with Washington Post columnist and Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen as well as Fox News senior strategic analyst Ret. Gen. Jack Keane. [Media Matters, 3/30/26; Axios, 4/28/26]

  • Criticism of the war

    • Podcaster Joe Rogan called the war “terrifying,” arguing, “Most people that voted for Trump or wanted Trump to be in office, one of the things that was attractive was this no more wars.” Rogan said, “Trump was the first one to go, alright, let's do something about it [Iran]. But it seems like they didn't know what the fuck they were going to do.” [YouTube, The Joe Rogan Experience, 4/16/26]
    • Rogan: “It doesn't make sense they choose to do it when they did it. … I’m like, what happened?” Referring to Trump’s post suggesting Iran's “whole civilization will die tonight,” Rogan said, “That one wasn't good.” [YouTube, The Joe Rogan Experience, 4/23/26; Reuters, 4/7/26]
    • SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly said the war “needs to come to an end for so many reasons,” arguing that it “is undoubtedly hurting the GOP’s already bleak chances in the midterms.” “There’s no point in endangering the Senate,” Kelly argued, adding, “For the love of God, we do not want to endanger the Senate, and we don't want to even lose unnecessary Senate seats.” [SiriusXM, The Megyn Kelly Show, 4/20/26]
    • Kelly later said that “a huge number of [Trump] supporters who definitely believed him that there wouldn't be another war ... feel deeply betrayed by this.” Kelly: “You've got 80% of independents who are against this war, who I don't think are enjoying his little parlor games on, like, I'm going to bomb them out of civilization, the bombing's going to start, we're gonna bomb bridges — and threatening some civilian infrastructure over and over.” [SiriusXM, The Megyn Kelly Show, 4/21/26]
    • Podcaster Theo Von on Trump's Easter post threatening to destroy Iran’s bridges and power plants: “To write that, it's diabolical. It's insane.” Von argued, “What American is this helping? Besides the war, the industrial war complex, what American, what hard work — what guy who's trying to take care of his family or a single mother who's a nurse who's going to work and has to get home and get to her kid's ball game and has to be both parents. What farmer is this helping? What regular person is this helping? I just don't know. I don't understand.” [YouTube, This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von, 4/20/26; NBC News, 4/4/26]
    • Former Fox host Tucker Carlson on Trump’s threats to destroy civilian infrastructure: “Killing noncombatants … is immoral. That will never be moral. That can never be justified.” Carlson added, “We have intentionally bombed civilian infrastructure in Iran. It's totally unacceptable. Not under the phony laws of some international body, but under moral law, God's law.” [YouTube, The Tucker Carlson Show, 4/6/26; NBC News, 4/4/26]
    • Carlson on Trump's diplomacy: “It almost seems like this is an intentional effort to destroy the United States by our own government.” After guest John Kiriakou suggested that “we’re going to have to let the diplomats do what diplomats are paid to do,” Carlson responded, “I don’t think we have any left.” Carlson continued, “I mean, all of these negotiations have been run by non-diplomats.” [YouTube, The Tucker Carlson Show, 4/27/26]
    • Carlson called Fox News host Mark Levin “presumptuous” for “lecturing Christians about why their God supports the war in Iran.” Carlson: “It's disgusting. And yet, there's not a single evangelical leader in the United States who has the bravery required to challenge Mark Levin as he desecrates the religion itself.” [YouTube, The Tucker Carlson Show, 4/22/26]
    • Podcaster Dave Smith: Trump “never ends up getting anything” out of deals and “swerved” after making “a completely empty threat” to Iran. Referring to Trump’s threats to Iranian infrastructure, Smith said, “It's concerning that he's back to the same bluff because he looked like an asshole for saying it and then it being a completely empty threat. … There is no indication last time that in this game of chicken, that Iran swerved first. All the indications are that Trump swerved.” [YouTube, Part of the Problem, 4/21/26]
    • Daily Wire host Michael Knowles stated, “I would have argued against this on the National Security Council,” adding, “I just don’t see how this works out.” While discussing a potential end to the war, Knowles argued that “there are no good options here,” with the potential options being “a bad deal — a deal that we don't want, which Trump won't accept — or a massive escalation of the operation in Iran — maybe a ground invasion, which the American public won't accept.” [The Daily Wire, The Michael Knowles Show, 4/22/26] 
    • Manosphere streamer Amrou Fudl, known online as Myron Gaines, said “we’re in a fucking horrible spot” because of the war, citing rising oil and gas prices. Gaines argued, “People are paying like double what they would pay before the war to fill up their gas tank. That is a monumental L. Trump campaigned on no new wars and affordability. Now look what's going on.” [Rumble, MyronGainesX, 4/25/26; Mediaite, 12/22/25; Media Matters, 3/18/23; The New York Times, 4/6/26]
    • Conspiracy theorist Stew Peters: “This is a disaster. And it was meant to be a disaster.” Peters continued, “How many times has Trump told us that the Iranians have been defeated? He has declared victory like half a dozen times by this point. … So which one is it: Did we already win or is he about to win? No, it’s neither.” [Rumble, The Stew Peters Show, 4/25/26; Media Matters, 3/13/23; Rolling Stone, 9/1/23]
    • Alex Jones argued that “Trump does not know what he's talking about when it comes to military.” Jones also stated that administration officials claiming Iran has been “totally defeated” are “counting your chickens before they’re hatched.” [Infowars, The Alex Jones Show, 4/28/26]
    • Nick Fuentes said that “we just have no clue what the strategy is” in Iran and “it’s typical TACO — Trump always chickens out.” Fuentes added, “It's hard actually to peg the administration where they're going to go with this, but I think that you would not be deploying more aircraft carriers to the region if you were done with hostilities,” noting that “I don't know that you would be deploying an additional carrier strike group if the goal was to end the war as quickly as possible.” [Rumble, America First with Nick Fuentes, 4/29/26]

  • Pro-war commentary

    • Trump ally Laura Loomer on the ceasefire: “These jihadist Muslims, they really only understand two things, and that's death and destruction. That's why I was in favor of bombing the Iranian regime.” Loomer added, “You have all these people whispering in President Trump's ear that we need to have peace with the IRGC, that we need to have a negotiation with the IRGC. And as I said before, the only thing that these Islamic terrorists know how to negotiate in is death and destruction, and so I think we need to start speaking their language.” [Rumble, Loomer Unleashed, 4/9/26; Media Matters, 8/14/24; Politico, 9/11/24]
    • On The Five, Jesse Watters claimed Democrats are “rooting for terrorists, and they are taking the terrorists’ word over Trump’s — that’s heinous.” Watters insisted, “The clock is ticking. This blockade is killing the military. Boats are getting seized. There is no money. They're screwed.” [Fox News, The Five, 4/21/26]
    • Fox host Brian Kilmeade suggested “we're victims of our own success” after “killing so many leaders, military leaders as well as political leaders.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 4/22/26]
    • Daily Wire host Ben Shapiro argued that Iran “might be on their last legs,” adding, “Iran has some serious troubles.” He argued, “They're putting out propaganda about women and children carrying guns. That's how bad things are getting in Iran at this point.” [The Daily Wire, The Ben Shapiro Show, 4/28/26]
    • Fox contributor Marc Thiessen: It’s time to “start the military campaign again, except this time it's military campaign plus blockade, which is going to crush their economy as we're crushing them militarily.” “He can finish this in two weeks,” Thiessen claimed, adding, “And then once you finish the targeting, you say we're going to either destroy Kharg Island or you give us the nuclear dust, and if they don't capitulate then, then we take out Kharg Island and their economy is finished. So I think we are in a very strong position here. It’s not going to take forever. We’re a couple of weeks away from ending this thing as soon as we start the operation.” [Fox News, Special Report with Bret Baier, 4/23/26]
    • Newsmax host Rob Schmitt argued that ending the Iranian regime is “far more important than just politics.” Schmitt characterized the war as “a job that no other president had the stones to take on because of the moment we're in right now, it's obviously very hard to do this. It's very messy. That regime is embedded in the country. Nobody wanted to deal with this. Everyone knew it needed to be dealt with.” [Newsmax, Rob Schmitt Tonight, 4/23/26]
    • Fox analyst and retired Army Gen. Jack Keane: “What we need to do is finish the objectives, in terms of the military objectives that have been assigned to the Israeli forces and to the American forces, and let's finish what we started.” Keane warned that Iran “will not give in” to the blockade alone. [Fox News, Hannity, 4/28/26; Media Matters, 4/13/26]
    • After Fox host Mark Levin said he thinks Trump “fully understands … it is very, very important that we finish the job,” his guest, retired Army Gen. Keith Kellogg, added: “Romans … went down to Carthage, they burned it to the ground, they took 50,000 prisoners and they finished the job. There was no more Carthage, and in fact they didn’t cause them problems again in the future. We ought to do that to the Iranians as well.” Earlier in April during a discussion of the war, Levin asked his guest about the legality of using nuclear weapons: “We dropped two atomic bombs. Now, I'm not encouraging it. I'm asking about the law. Is that legal today under the war — law of the war or not?” Levin interpreted Cornell professor Brian Cox’s response as “a possible yes.” [Fox News, Life, Liberty & Levin, 4/11/26, 4/19/26]
    • Fox host Sean Hannity declared that “the blockade is working,” and asked, “What if the president every three days were to take out 10% of their infrastructure, 10% of — every three days, until they get the message?” His guest, Keith Kellogg, suggested, “The trouble with that is incrementalism. They think they can survive another day, another two days, another three days. You want to make sure you tell them, you let them know you’re not going to survive this. Your military is not. Your Revolutionary Guard is not.” [Fox News, Hannity, 4/29/26]
    • Podcaster Dave Rubin criticized Carlson’s opposition to the war and embrace of “lefties,” suggesting he may be “compromised” and claiming he’s “trying to destroy Trump and he’s trying to destroy MAGA.” Rubin argued: “Tucker could do shows every single day saying, Trump, I'm really disappointed in Iran and I want to nudge you on that, but we've got to win these midterms because otherwise the communists are coming in, and that's what's happening. And he's not.” [YouTube, The Rubin Report, 4/23/26]
    • Levin complained that “Joe Rogan keeps attacking Trump, he keeps attacking our war with Iran,” asking, “How is Joe Rogan a conservative?” Levin pleaded, “Please, can someone tell me something that Joe Rogan said that’s conservative, or that is principled conservative, or principled constitutionalist?” [Westwood One, The Mark Levin Show, 4/23/26]
    • Levin suggested Tucker Carlson was communicating “with the enemy, the Iranian regime, in the leadup to the war,” adding, “They play him on state TV in Iran.” Levin continued, “If we get creamed in the midterm elections, you know who to thank: Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Nick Fuentes, who’s out there campaigning for the Democrats. You got people like bloated Steve Bannon.” [Westwood One, The Mark Levin Show, 4/30/26]
    • Loomer celebrated Trump’s post disavowing right-wing media figures opposed to the war, saying, “It's pretty clear that the president doesn't have any tolerance for the woke reich.” Loomer said “Tucker is lying,” adding that he and the other commentators have “ruined themselves. They've completely ruined their reputations. They have no respect from anybody.” Loomer has previously criticised Carlson and other right-wing media figures for opposing war with Iran in similar terms, claiming “all these woke reich wannabe neo-Nazi influencers and podcasters [are] spewing the same bullshit propaganda as the Iranian regime.” [Rumble, Loomer Unleashed, 4/9/26, 3/3/26]