AP NewsBy DAVID BAUDER, MEG KINNARD and ALI SWENSONMarch 4, 2026For President Donald Trump, some of the sharpest criticism he’s faced in the early days of the Iran war 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 News’ 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 — and, by contrast, how much of a problem it can be if it fractures.[...]“It’s hard to say this, but the United States didn’t make the decision here. Benjamin Netanyahu did,” Carlson said on his podcast, referring to the Israeli prime minister.
I would argue that Trump's "loyal" base isn't that loyal anymore, and observers on the other side of the pond see it, too.
BBC NewsLucy Proctorand Mike WendlingMarch 14, 2026"This is Israel's war. This is not the United States' war."The video was posted to YouTube less than two days after the US and Israel began their most recent attacks on Iran. It's been viewed more than two million times. But it wasn't made by an anti-Trump activist or critic of the president.The monologue came from one of the most influential voices on the right of American politics: former Fox News host Tucker Carlson."Countries become less free during war, a spirit of violence descends and people change fast," said Carlson, a long-time supporter of Donald Trump, who reportedly met the US president several times last month in an attempt to dissuade him from ordering military action. "You can feel on people the bloodlust, the hate, and it accelerates."Carlson's advice was clear: "Get out right away. It's just that simple. Of course, it's also incredibly complicated, but the first step is deciding that we're leaving."While many of Trump's most fervent supporters back the current military action, polls indicate that one in four Republicans take the opposite view.
The MAGA crowd finally saw through the rhetoric. Israel pulled Trump’s strings! They essentially said, "We are attacking; you're going to be left behind if you don't join us!" So, like a good lapdog, he went to war. In another AP News article...
It was no surprise when Joe Kent showed up on Tucker Carlson’s podcast a day after quitting his counterterrorism job in President Donald Trump’s administration. Here was a top official who resigned to protest the war with Iran turning to right-wing media’s leading critic of the conflict.“The Israelis drove the decision to take this action,” Kent said in Wednesday’s interview.[...]The conversation encapsulated two schisms within the Republican Party and the right-wing media system, both of which have reached high into the national security establishment of the Trump administration.There’s a foreign policy debate over the wisdom of Trump’s war with Iran and the future of the United States’ longstanding alliance with Israel.
Trump spent years feeding his base statements they took as Gospel truth... claiming the Democrats started all the wars and they believed him. He promised he would never start a war, and the MAGA movement ate it up. And now?
But look closer, and there are splits apparent on the right.Nine out of 10 Republicans that self-identify as "Maga" (Make America Great Again) support the war, according to NBC.These are Trump's ride-or-die supporters, the type of people who show up to his rallies wearing red hats and almost always support his agenda.The same poll indicated that Republicans who don't call themselves Maga are much more sceptical about the war – just over half said they approved, and more than a third say they oppose it.
You know I think that I am beginning to smell a grassfire. Responsible Statecraft reported that...
According to a new poll of Trump 2024 voters commissioned by the Quincy Institute (which publishes Responsible Statecraft) and the American Conservative, and conducted by Ipsos from March 12-14, 79% say they would prefer the president declare victory and get out of the war now.“While Trump voters by and large stand behind Trump, they overwhelmingly want him to declare an end to the war,” said Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute. “Trump risks losing significant portions of his base if he escalates the war with ground troops and allows the war to further push up gas prices.”
Craa... ck! That sound is of Trump base cracking!
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall,
And down will come baby, cradle and all
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