President Donald Trump has fired a sharp response at conservative critics Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson after both questioned his military strikes on Iran.
“I think that MAGA is Trump—MAGA’s not the other two,” Trump said in an interview with The Inner Circle on Monday.
The President insisted that criticism from Kelly and Carlson has “no impact” on his decisions.
“MAGA wants to see our country thrive and be safe. And MAGA loves what I’m doing—every aspect of it,” he said.
Trump framed the conflict with Iran as a necessary action to protect America and its allies.
“This is a detour that we have to take in order to keep our country safe and keep other countries safe, frankly,” he added.
Kelly has led criticism among conservatives, claiming the United States was dragged into the conflict. She said soldiers are dying “for Iran or Israel” and questioned whether the war serves American interests.
“Our government’s job is not to look out for Iran or for Israel. It’s to look out for us. And this feels very much to me like it is clearly Israel’s war,” Kelly said on her SiriusXM show.
Trump did not hold back. He told The Inner Circle, “Megyn was opposed to me for years when I ran the first time and nothing stopped me. And so, you know, some people are against—and they always come back. She came all the way back. She should study her history book a little bit.”
Carlson has been even more aggressive in his criticism. He told ABC News that Trump’s strikes were “absolutely disgusting and evil” and has reportedly visited the White House three times to lobby the President against attacking Iran.
Trump brushed off Carlson’s attempts to influence him. “He can say whatever he wants, it has no impact on me,” Trump said.
The White House has struggled to manage criticism from conservatives who backed Trump for his anti-interventionist platform.
Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) accused Trump of betraying voters, writing on social media, “Thousands and thousands of Americans from my generation have been killed and injured in never-ending, pointless foreign wars, and we said no more. But we are freeing the Iranian people. Please.”
Trump defended his position by highlighting the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear ambitions, according to the Daily Mail.
“Yeah, sure, there are 93 million people in Iran. Let them liberate themselves. But Iran is on the verge of having nuclear weapons,” he said.
Vice President JD Vance attempted to reassure conservatives that this conflict is different from past U.S. engagements.
“The President has clearly defined what he wants to accomplish. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and has to commit long-term to never trying to rebuild the nuclear capability,” Vance told Fox News.
“There’s just no way that Donald Trump is going to allow this country to get into a multi-year conflict with no clear end in sight and no clear objective. I think that means that we’re not going to get into the problems that we’ve had with Iraq and Afghanistan,” Vance added.
Trump’s comments make clear that he will not be swayed by conservative media criticism. His focus remains on dismantling Iran’s nuclear ambitions and protecting America, regardless of opposition from Kelly, Carlson, or others within the GOP.
