President Donald Trump has dismissed criticism from major conservative media figures over his ongoing war against Iran, insisting that he is the real voice of MAGA.
Amid dire polling numbers, talk radio host and former Fox News star Megyn Kelly said she had “serious doubts” about the airstrikes and questioned whether they were worth the deaths of multiple U.S. service members.
Tucker Carlson has called the bombing campaign “absolutely disgusting and evil”, while mercenary magnate and Trump donor Erik Prince said he was “not happy about the whole thing”.
But in an interview with independent D.C. newsletter The Inner Circle Monday night, the president declared that his base is still behind him.
“I have to do what’s right, number one — and you can’t have Iran getting a nuclear weapon. That’s predominant to me,” Trump said.
Referring to Kelly and Carlson, he said: “I think that MAGA is Trump — MAGA’s not the other two. MAGA wants to see our country thrive and be safe. And MAGA loves what I’m doing — every aspect of it…
“This is a detour that we have to take in order to keep our country safe and keep other countries safe, frankly.”
He added that Kelly “was opposed to me for years when I ran the first time and nothing stopped me”, saying: “They always come back.”
Polling has found that only one in four Americans support Trump’s “Operation Epic Fury”, with even 23 percent of Republican voters saying he was too willing to use military force.
Six U.S. service members have been killed in Iranian reprisal strikes as of Monday evening, and Trump has refused to rule out putting “boots on the ground” — while offering conflicting timelines and goals for the operation.
In her SiriusXM show on Monday, when the casualty numbers were yet to be updated, Kelly said: “I don’t think those four service members died for the United States. I think they died for Iran or for Israel… this feels very much to me like it is clearly Israel’s war…
“I support the president. I voted for the president. I campaigned the president. But that doesn’t mean… you have to accept another Middle East war without questions. And anyone who tells you that can suck it…
“There is nothing unpatriotic, or unsupportive of one’s conservatism, to say ‘I would like to be better convinced that this is worth the sacrifice of American blood and treasure.'”
