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ABC chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl had what he felt was a big scoop at the onset of American and Israeli strikes against Iran.
“I just heard back from Tucker Carlson,” Karl reported. “He’s just one person, [but] a prominent one in Trump’s movement. But this is a momentous and potentially defining or maybe redefining move for President Trump.
“He got into politics, in part, promising to end what he called forever wars. He was harshly critical of the war with Iraq. He claimed that he had always been against it. And now he finds himself starting what could be a major conflict with Iran.”
Was there a MAGA divide over President Donald Trump‘s decision to strike Iran? Were GOP legislators revolting against the commander in chief? If Congress were to vote on a War Powers Resolution, would it not pass, given this alleged divide?
Of course, Karl, who recently served as a White House Correspondents Association president, didn’t reach out to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) or House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), instead opting for Tucker Carlson.
One wonders: Did Karl reach out to liberal hosts such as Rachel Maddow when former President Barack Obama struck Libya? She, too, had the president’s ear and visited the White House seven times during his tenure. But that doesn’t mean she had any true influence over him.
The same goes for Carlson: If he has so much influence over Trump, why does the president keep defying him on foreign affairs?
“The first week of a war with Iran could easily kill thousands of Americans,” Carlson wrote on X on June 4, 2025. “It could also collapse our economy, as surging oil prices trigger unmanageable inflation. Consider the effects of $30 gasoline.
“But the second week of the war could be even worse,” Carlson wrote. “Iran isn’t Iraq or Libya, or even North Korea. … Iran has extensive military ties with Russia. It sells the overwhelming majority of its oil exports to China. … An attack on Iran could very easily become a world war. We’d lose.”
Shortly thereafter, Trump took the unprecedented step of launching Operation Midnight Hammer, a bold and daring mission to dismantle Iran’s nuclear capabilities. It was, by all accounts, an unmitigated success, with zero U.S. lives lost and Iran’s nuclear ambitions set back years, if not permanently.
As Karl noted, Carlson speaks to the president, as many people do. He spoke at the Republican National Convention, as well as at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, held just days before the 2024 election.
But what few people still cannot grasp about Trump is that he listens. He weighs options. But, ultimately, as we’ve seen on countless occasions, he follows his own instincts. His own gut. And after seeing him as a politician for the past 10-plus years and as a president for five of them, there’s one cold and undisputed fact: Nobody controls Trump.
I once interviewed Karoline Leavitt, now the White House press secretary, in 2024 and asked the following question: “You’ve been around the president throughout the entire campaign. It’s a 24/7 job. Having gotten to know him, what’s the one thing you learned that folks out there may not know about him?”
“He listens,” she immediately responded. “He values the opinions of everyone around him. And oftentimes he’ll come to you and say, ‘What do you think about this?'”
But because Carlson, who has consistently taken an isolationist position, disagrees with Trump, that apparently is good enough to talk about a “MAGA divide” in the eyes of ABC’s most senior correspondent.
The Bulwark: “MAGA Already Hates Trump’s Iran War”
NPR: “Trump promised the MAGA base no new wars. Then he went to war with Iran”
The Atlantic: “From ‘America First’ to ‘Always America Last’; Trump promised to stop wars. His grip on his base is being questioned now that he’s started one.”
Of course, there are others on the fringes who are also outspoken against Trump on this conflict, but let’s just file them under the “usual suspects” category: Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY).
Let’s start with Greene, who might as well be a co-host on The View due to her increasing appearances. She recently, and abruptly, retired from Congress to start her next career of being an anti-Trump Republican, which means liberal networks such as CNN and ABC cannot get enough of her.
Massie is a classic example of a lawmaker who exists solely to oppose Trump, which works out quite well for his fundraising efforts. This is something he invariably runs to social media to boast about.
“Y’all sent $175,000 to my campaign in the last 36 hours!” a jubilant Massie wrote on X in 2024 after Trump called him a grandstander. “For the first time, my cash on hand is over $1,000,000! It’s a great start, but I’m going to need more if POTUS makes good on his threat to retaliate for my vote. Please help me set a 48-hour record.”
In the case of the Iran conflict, Massie believes it was only launched to shield Trump from the Epstein files.
“PSA: Bombing a country on the other side of the globe won’t make the Epstein files go away, any more than the Dow going above 50,000 will,” Massie wrote on X.
Consequently, Massie has received ample media attention.
USA Today: “Thomas Massie calls Iran attack a ‘war of aggression’ by the US”
The Independent: “MAGA rebels Massie and MTG shred ‘America Last’ Trump as vote on Iran strike looms”
The New York Times: “Trump’s Decision to Strike Iran Opens New Fissures in Midterms”
To quote another Middle East conflict, “Mission Accomplished.”
Let’s look at the numbers regarding this alleged MAGA divide on the Iran conflict. A Harvard-Harris X poll released Monday on the generic ballot for the midterm elections showed Republicans and Democrats tied at 50%. The previous poll showed an 8-point advantage for Democrats.
Per YouGov, only 9% of Republican voters “strongly disapprove” or “disapprove” of Trump’s decision to take out Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, while 77% approve. Other polls have similar results. Carlson thinks it’s “absolutely disgusting and evil,” per his interview with Karl.
He has every right to his opinion. It isn’t a change in worldview from the longtime commentator and host, and therefore, it is not surprising.
But let’s not pretend that the opinions of the few represent the opinions of the vast majority. Because when asked about Carlson’s criticism of the conflict, Trump replied that he “can say whatever he wants, it has no impact on me.”
TRUMP ERADICATES 47 YEARS OF FECKLESS FOREIGN POLICY
The president’s decision to engage in conflict moves forward, regardless. There isn’t a divide in the party in any meaningful way.
But rest assured, many in legacy media, along with Democrats and a few attention-seeking Republicans, will be more than happy to create the illusion.
