Trump slams Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly’s Iran criticism, says ‘I have to do what’s right’

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump fired back at prominent voices in his own MAGA movement Monday night, declaring that Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson are “not MAGA” as they criticized his Iran strategy.

Speaking during a call with 'The Inner Circle,' Trump strongly defended ongoing US military action and pushed back against conservative media figures who questioned the risk of a deeper, prolonged conflict in the Middle East.

Trump says he must act to stop Iran’s nuclear threat

'The Inner Circle' reporter Rachael Bade asked Trump whether the criticism reflected a significant portion of his political base.

Trump replied, "I don't know. I have to do what's right, number one, and you can't have Iran getting a nuclear weapon. That's predominant to me."

He expressed confidence that most of the MAGA movement supports him. Trump noted that Kelly had criticized him in the past but later backed him, suggesting her current skepticism was not a major concern. "Some people are against — and they always come back. She came all the way back. But now I guess she maybe doesn’t like the idea of this war, but I do because I have to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of the Iranians," he said.

Trump also told Kelly to “study her history book a little bit,” recalling, “Megan was opposed to me for years when I ran the first time and nothing stopped me."

He dismissed the influence of Kelly and Carlson, asserting, "I think that MAGA is Trump — MAGA’s not the other two." He added, "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 to keep our country safe and keep other countries safe, frankly."

On Carlson, Trump said, "He can say whatever he wants, it has no impact on me."

Conservative criticism of Trump’s Iran mission

Carlson, a close ally of Trump and a vocal critic of Israel, reportedly urged him against launching an attack on Tehran in the days before Saturday’s strikes, which killed several top Iranian leaders and six US service members.

On her SiriusXM show Monday, Kelly challenged the administration’s claim that Iran was planning preemptive strikes against the United States.

“I’ve got serious doubts about what we are doing…” she said, criticizing CNN contributor Scott Jennings for repeating the administration’s talking points. “Stop and think about it for a minute. I’m close to this administration in many ways as well, but I don’t allow them to use me like a fool.”

Kelly questioned the logic of Iran planning preemptive strikes despite US military strength in the region, including aircraft carriers. “Does it make any sense to you that Iran was planning preemptive strikes against us and our civilians, knowing full well of the massive military assets we had moved into the region?” she asked.