Trump's sharp attack on former allies reveals rift in MAGA movement

(Patria) - In an attack on four conservative commentators who criticized the US-Israel war against Iran, Donald Trump wrote that they were "stupid people" and that "nobody cares about them".

Then, over the next 372 words in a post on Truth Social on Thursday afternoon, he spoke about them, writes the BBC.

The president singled out two former popular Fox News evening show hosts, Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly, as well as right-wing conspiracy theorists Alex Jones and Candace Owens.

He called each of them out, using mocking language to highlight what he considered their past failures and shortcomings.

All of them had supported Trump in the past and were part of his efforts to win over right-wing podcasters and social media influencers during the 2024 presidential campaign.

Trump now says their views are contrary to his "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) movement.

"They are not MAGA, they are losers," he said. "As president, I could win them over whenever I wanted, but when they call me, I don't call them back because I'm too busy with world and state affairs."

Before parting ways with Fox News in 2023, Carlson hosted the network's most-watched evening show, averaging more than four million viewers per episode.

He then moved to the social media platform X, where he built an audience by advocating for a populist strain of conservatism that sometimes differed from Trump's. He has also been accused of spreading disinformation and conspiracy theories.

Carlson has opposed the war with Iran from the beginning and recently intensified his criticism, calling Trump's obscenity-laden Easter message to Iran "disgusting on every level" and calling his threats to bomb civilian energy and transport infrastructure a war crime.

Following Trump's latest post on Truth Social, Carlson said he still loved the president but was "sorry for him".

He also reiterated a growing sentiment among some on the right that Trump's decision to go to war was the result of undue influence from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "The Israelis have him in a bind," he said.

Owens, who recently claimed, without providing evidence, that Charlie Kirk was murdered last year for his anti-Israel views, gave a more direct assessment of President Trump.

"Maybe it's time for grandpa to move into a home," she wrote.

Former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, whom Trump mentioned in passing in his post, responded to his comments on social media X.

"President Trump has gone mad because he is waging war against Iran, which is a broken campaign promise," she wrote. "I fought alongside Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones to help get Trump elected."

"We never changed," she concluded. "Trump changed."

Greene, who had a dramatic falling out with Trump last year over what she said was his lack of transparency in handling government files related to Jeffrey Epstein, has intensified her attacks on the president since resigning from Congress in January.

Her criticism of the war in Iran, along with that of Carlson, Kelly, and others, reflects some of the cracks that have appeared in Trump's conservative coalition since the beginning of the conflict.

This raises the already high stakes for Trump, as Vice President JD Vance leads a US delegation to Pakistan to negotiate face-to-face with the Iranians today.

For now, a fragile two-week ceasefire with Iran is in effect. But on Friday, Trump told the New York Post that the US military was arming and supplying for a resumption of hostilities if negotiations fail.

If that happens, individuals like Carlson and Greene could have company, as opposition within Trump's party grows.