Political Tribune

Donald Trump, Entertainment, GOP, Opinion, Politics

Trump Turns On Tucker Carlson In Wild Iran Rant, Calls Him ‘Kooky’

There is turmoil in MAGA land.

563
563 points

Few things since the start of Donald Trump’s presidency have separated him from his MAGA base, quite like the growing conflict in Iran.

Israel began attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities earlier this week. While the U.S. does not appear to have officially joined the attack, Donald Trump has been declaring on social media that “IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON” and also criticizing longtime supporters of his, like Tucker Carlson, by name for warning about escalating the situation with Iran.

Trump and Carlson have had a complex relationship over the years, with Carlson generally aligning with Trump during his tenure at Fox News but occasionally breaking with him. In the Dominion lawsuit, Carlson was found to have once declared that he hates Trump “passionately,” but the two later made up before Trump returned to the White House.

This week, when Trump made noises about joining Israel’s war effort against Iran, Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon argued against such an action.

“It’s like, all of that is now ignored because a leader of a country who does not have majority support in that country … wants a course of action that includes the United States, and I just disagree,” Carlson said on Bannon’s show.

To that, Trump denounced Carlson as “kooky.”

Also among those criticizing the president are the “HodgeTwins,” Keith and Kevin Hodge, a pair of twin brothers who have been Trump supporters in the online influencer space for much of Trump’s time in politics. They have sometimes been controversial, as seen when they hosted former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke for an interview last year.

On Monday, the Hodges, on their shared X account, declared, “Trump attacking his base for wanting peace is crazy as hell,” while quote-tweeting a Trump post criticizing Carlson.

So what’s emerging is a big fight within the MAGA coalition between those like Laura Loomer, whose loyalty to Trump is unshakeable, regardless of what he says and what positions he takes, and those (like Tucker Carlson) who are strongly anti-war, and especially those who like to complain about “wars fought on behalf of Israel,” with or without a tinge of antisemitism.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), a long-time Trump loyalist, is clearly in the latter camp, having posted on social media this week that specifically defended Carlson.

The HodgeTwins post had varying reactions on both sides of the divide.

Photo courtesy of  YouTube screenshot. 

, , ,

Stephen Silver

Posted by

Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology, and the economy.

Comments

log in

Captcha!
Forgot password?

reset password

Back to
log in