Trump excommunicates two MAGA heavyweights for criticizing Iran bombing
President Donald Trump appeared to excommunicate two MAGA heavyweights on Monday night during an exclusive interview with reporter Rachael Bade.
In the interview, Trump hit back at Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly, two of his most staunch media allies, over their criticisms of his decision to strike Iran alongside Israel over the weekend. The president's comments came at a time when his supporting coalition appears deeply fractured over the strikes.
"I think that MAGA is Trump — MAGA’s not the other two,” Trump told Bade, referring to Kelly and Carlson. “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 in order to keep our country safe and keep other countries safe, frankly.”
Early Saturday morning, U.S. and Israeli forces bombed several sites around Iran. Israel struck places where Iran's military and political leadership were located, which killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the brutal dictator who had ruled the country since 1989. The U.S. struck multiple Iranian ballistic and nuclear missile sites, according to reports.
The Trump administration has offered up several reasons for conducting the strikes, but some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle remain unconvinced that the strikes were necessary, even though they celebrated the death of Khamenei.