Several prominent right-wing figures including Tucker Carlson, Candance Owens, Mark Levin and Megyn Kelly have come out against the war in Iran. Joe Kent, the National Director of Counterterrorism resigned from the Trump administration over the war. Yet, polling shows that the average self-identified MAGA voter supports the war, so there is debate about whether MAGA is really divided on the issue or there is just the illusion of division because the few against the war are very public figures.
Voices on the right were more likely to discuss the issue of division or lack thereof, sometimes in publications rated on the left. Whereas the division of the right was a less popular topic for commentators on the left.
An American Conservative (Right) opinion said, “We are constantly reminded that there is a disconnect between the podcasters and the polls on whether this war divides MAGA. That’s true so far as it goes, though MAGA is an imprecise category that self-selects for those who trust Trump the most. It’s also probably true that many more Trump voters than pundits believe his promises that this won’t be a forever war, which none of his previous military interventions have turned out to be…Perhaps Trump can live without his erstwhile ‘new media’ admirers as easily as he did the Never Trumpers. The conservative influencer space is, to put it mildly, highly flawed. Some of the most prominent podcasters are too fixated on Israel to be all that persuasive to Republicans over 40, though they are reaching audiences that helped Trump in 2024.”
For Mediaite (Lean Left) an opinion writer argued, “Carlson has long made it his mission to remake the Republican Party in the mold of some hideous, socialist-Buchananite Frankenstein built on a three-legged stool of left-wing economic policy, isolationism, and barely-laundered Jew hatred…Trump’s decision to join forces with the Israelis to cripple the Islamic Republic of Iran represents the final defeat of their faction, at least for the remainder of the 47th president’s term. [Megyn] Kelly and Carlson’s lies, ad hominems, and grievance-fueled rants ultimately proved insufficient to the task of convincing the commander-in-chief not to pursue the difficult, but worthwhile task of dismantling a rogue regime with the unofficial motto of ‘Death to America’ and the blood on their hands to prove they mean it.”
Robby Soave (Lean Right) wrote in the Hill (Center), “Bottom line: While I don’t expect Tucker Carlson and Joe Kent to run for president, I’m warning you, neocons: You are writing off serious skepticism of this war, pretending it doesn’t exist and pretending it’s just all anti-Semitism. It’s not true, it’s not going to work, and when the time comes for the American people to actually vote on a post-Trump candidate, you’re going to be in for a rude awakening.”
In The Daily, A New York Times (Lean Left) podcast, journalist Robert Drapper said, “Republican-elected officials, with exception of two Kentucky-ites, Thomas Massie and Rand Paul, have been full throated in their support for Trump. They wouldn’t be doing that if they believed that there’s going to be hell to pay back home. And when we look at opinion surveys, they seem, by and large, to reflect the MAGA coalition being behind Trump, and thus, behind his war. I’ve seen another one, however…that poll very clearly shows that Trump is losing young voters. He’s losing Black and Latino voters. And his support amongst independents has utterly collapsed, all due to Iran.”
He added, “Both Vance and Rubio are trying to preserve their options. They, in essence, have their feet on both sides of the line. [They’re] personifying this moment of truth that has arrived for the Republican Party…It feels like a moment where an explanation of what our role in the world is and when we should insert ourself into complicated regions like the Middle East, it’s a dialogue begging to be had that has been avoided for years, which now it feels like can’t be avoided much longer.”
