WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson have traded jabs in recent days over Israel and Iran, shining a spotlight on diverging views within the Republican Party over the quickly developing conflict and the potential for U.S. involvement.
In the latest development, Trump, in a Truth Social post on Monday night, asked someone to “explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that,' IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!'"
Earlier in the day when asked to respond to recent skepticism over the conflict from Carlson, who now hosts a podcast and has remained a well-known figure on the right since his exit from Fox, Trump appeared to take a swipe at Carlson over being fired by the network in 2023.
“I don’t know what Tucker Carlson is saying,” Trump said. “Let him go get a television network and say it so that people listen.”
Trump's comments came in response to Carlson's vocal opposition about the potential for U.S. involvement in the Middle East in the wake of Israel’s attack on Iran last week. Such commentary included the former Fox host writing in his newsletter that the U.S. president was “complicit in the act of war” and warning in a post on X that “warmongers” were “calling Donald Trump today to demand air strikes and other direct US military involvement in a war with Iran.”
Despite returning from a Group of Seven summit in Canada a day early due to the rising tension in the Middle East, it is unclear whether Trump is considering putting the U.S. more directly involved in the conflict and, if so, to what extent. He has declined to comment on the subject when asked by reporters over the last few days but told ABC News on Sunday that it was possible the U.S. could step up involvement.
Trump is known for his “America first” approach to foreign policy and has at times bemoaned U.S. involvement and money spent on conflicts overseas. But he has been steadfast in his insistence that Iran must not obtain a nuclear weapon. And he previously threatened U.S. military action against Tehran if talks over its nuclear program, which the Trump administration and its Iranian counterparts had been engaged in for weeks, headed in the wrong direction.
The developments between Trump and Carlson, however, speak to a potential larger strife taking place within the party amidst the conflict as some appear to grapple with the clashing views of wanting to limit U.S. efforts overseas while defending America’s longtime ally Israel and preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Firebrand conservative Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., usually a close ally of the president’s, took to X on Monday to firmly defend Carlson, writing “foreign wars/intervention/regime change put America last, kill innocent people, are making us broke, and will ultimately lead to our destruction.”
“That’s not kooky,” she added. “That’s what millions of Americans voted for. It’s what we believe is America First.”
However, others — particularly Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., known to be a defense hawk — are urging Trump to do what it takes to ensure Iran does not get a nuclear weapon.
“If diplomacy is not successful and we are left with the option of force, I would urge President Trump to go all in to make sure that, when this operation is over, there's nothing left standing in Iran regarding their nuclear program,” Graham said in an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation” over the weekend.
“If that means providing bombs, provide bombs,” he continued. “If it means flying with Israel, fly with Israel.”
In a long post on X, Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday addressed the conflicting views, saying people are “right” to be worried about the U.S. putting too much into conflicts overseas while urging “trust” in the president. The vice president also noted that Trump may, in fact, decide to take “further action” to stifle Iran’s nuclear program.
“That decision ultimately belongs to the president,” Vance wrote. “And of course, people are right to be worried about foreign entanglement after the last 25 years of idiotic foreign policy.
“But I believe the president has earned some trust on this issue,” Vance continued. “And having seen this up close and personal, I can assure you that he is only interested in using the American military to accomplish the American people's goals.”