Ben Shapiro backs Trump, trashes Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly as ‘fringe’ over Iran

WASHINGTON, DC: Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro threw his weight behind President Donald Trump during a growing rift within right-wing media over the administration’s Iran stance, dismissing critics like Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly as representing only a “fringe” segment of the Republican audience.

His remarks came during a discussion on Fox News on Sunday, April 12, as tensions over US policy toward Iran continue to divide conservative voices.

Ben Shapiro rejects influence of Trump critics

Shapiro downplayed concerns that prominent conservative critics could dent Trump’s standing within the Republican base.

Responding to a question about internal divisions, he said the disagreement was being overstated.

“I don’t think it’s a major issue for the Republican base,” Shapiro said, adding that Trump was “exactly right to call this out for what it is.”

He went on to characterize figures like Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly as influential online but limited in political impact.

“They have large numbers, but fringe audiences in terms of the broader overall Republican audience,” he said.

Backing his argument with polling trends, Shapiro claimed that support for Trump within the Republican Party remains overwhelmingly strong. 

“Multiple polls have shown over the course of the last month and a half that the president has 80 to 90 percent support inside the Republican Party for his actions in Iran,” he noted.

He contrasted that with what he described as minimal backing for Trump’s critics.

“There was a poll maybe two weeks ago that showed that the support for people like Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly versus the president is 6%,” Shapiro said.

“The idea that these folks are going to be able to undermine broad-scale support, I think that’s insane.”

Shapiro also rejected suggestions that the issue could influence upcoming elections.

“The attempt to turn this into a referendum on the midterm elections ignores the fact there are a lot of other factors,” he said, adding that “we’ll go through about 1,000 news cycles between now and November.”

 Trump attacks 'low IQ' critics

Shapiro’s remarks follow a sharp response from Trump himself, who has publicly criticized several right-wing commentators over their opposition to his Iran policy.

In a lengthy post on Truth Social earlier in the week, Trump accused Carlson, Kelly, Candace Owens and Alex Jones of consistently opposing him and suggested they were out of step with his political base.

“I know why Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones have all been fighting me for years,” Trump wrote, adding that they believe it would be “wonderful for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”

He went further, calling them “low IQs” and “stupid people,” and claimed they were “not MAGA” but instead “losers just trying to latch on to MAGA.”

“They’ve all been thrown off television, lost their shows, and aren’t even invited on TV because nobody cares about them,” Trump added, accusing them of seeking “cheap publicity.”