Tucker Carlson said in a New York Times interview last week that President Trump’s war with Iran was “the single most foolish thing any American president has ever done.” The former Trump stalwart also argued that the administration had been pressured into the war by Israel. His criticism lands as polling shows the war is unpopular across party lines.
Trump and Iran
Carlson said the war would hurt U.S. interests for generations to come. That is the core of his break with Trump on the issue: he is not only opposing the decision, but arguing that it carries long-term costs for the country.
Multiple recent polls found that the Iran war is just as unpopular as the nadirs of the Iraq and Vietnam wars. Around 60 percent of Americans said the decision to use military force was a mistake, while one in five Republicans said the same.
Republican voters and Israel
The polling also shows a change among Republican voters under 49. Fifty-seven percent of them now view Israel unfavorably, while more Americans overall now view Israel unfavorably than favorably. Four in five Democratic voters disapprove of Israel, and more than 90 percent of Democratic voters oppose the Iran war.
Matt Duss said, “The real remaining strong pro-Israel constituency is over-50 Republicans.” He added, “That’s not a durable political coalition.” His assessment lines up with the age split in Republican views and with the broader opposition to the war that Carlson is now echoing.
Democrats and the war powers vote
In late February, Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee reportedly tried to delay a vote on a war powers resolution as Trump made daily threats to bomb Iran. That episode showed how the issue had already started forcing moves inside Congress before Carlson’s remarks last week.
Graham Platner is the presumptive Democratic nominee in Maine’s Senate race, and Abdul Al-Sayed is running neck and neck with Haley Stevens in Michigan’s Democratic primary for Senate. The political field around Iran is now being shaped by voters who reject military action and by candidates who are testing how far that position can go.
Carlson’s interview gave a high-profile voice to a sentiment already visible in the polling, and it sharpened the divide inside Trump’s orbit over Iran. For readers watching the issue, the practical question is no longer whether opposition exists; it is which politicians are prepared to act on it.
