With potential Iranian deal on the horizon, MAGA media’s drawing red lines

by Jason Campbell, 26 May 26, https://www.mediamatters.org/media-matters-weekly-newsletter/media-matters-weekly-newsletter-may-29#paragraph–narrative-item–3479479

Deep divisions have emerged in right-wing media since President Donald Trump started a war with Iran three months ago. Some conservative media figures have loudly supported Trump’s war while others have been extremely and vocally opposed to new entanglements in the Middle East. Many figures fell somewhere in the middle, tepidly supporting the president while urging for a quick end to the conflict. With a potential deal (again) reportedly on the horizon, some voices on the right are starting to draw their hard lines for an end to the conflict.

The infighting between right-wing media pundits over the war has at times been deeply personal. This week, for example, Fox’s Mark Levin and podcaster Benny Johnson traded blows over the war. Johnson, who has been supporting Trump but also urging for a swift end to the fighting, said, “I don’t understand people like Mark Levin,” and then asked “How many people do you think are being paid by Israel?” Levin, a staunch supporter of the conflict, fired back at “BJ Benny Johnson,” saying, “He’s been a grifter.” Levin also said “Benny Johnson, a nobody, and his ilk. And his ilk, they’re the ones who trash the president. They give aid and comfort to the Iranian Islamic regime.”

With a potential deal coming, some right-wing figures are already laying out what would be tolerable for the Trump administration to accept. Ben Shapiro, who has consistently taken a hardline stance supporting the war, laid out some red lines for a deal, including claiming that the United States cannot give Iran money to rebuild its infrastructure. A Charlie Kirk Show producer said the proposed deal is “not a perfect deal” and “would be getting us back to the situation before the war.” Fox’s Martha MacCallum commented on the potential deal, saying, “It doesn’t feel like we’re any closer than we were before.” On Fox News, staunch war supporter Jack Keane said the U.S. can’t give Iran immediate sanctions relief. A Newsmax host said the reported deal with Iran “sounds like a pretty bad deal.”

The war with Iran has caused serious turmoil inside Trump’s MAGA base. With the disastrous effects of rising fuel prices accumulating and the war’s catastrophic unpopularity with the American people growing, the political need for a swift end to the conflict may butt up against MAGA hardliners who want to see Iran capitulate further.

President Donald Trump, amid ongoing negotiations with Iran and a new spate of U.S. military strikes against it, spent part of Tuesday morning watching Fox News and then posting thanks on social media to on-air commentators who praised his efforts in the region.

U.S. and Iranian diplomats are once again negotiating toward an agreement to end the three-month war. Against this backdrop, Trump spent his Tuesday morning watching Fox News, a typical source for both information that shapes his worldview and praise to salve his various grievances. We know this because he posted on social media about segments that captured his fancy soon after they aired, a phenomenon Media Matters’ Matt Gertz termed the Fox-Trump feedback loop.

Major domestic and international affairs can turn on what Trump sees on Fox, though whatever he ends up deciding to do, the network’s hosts will surely fall in line behind their Dear Leader.

Excuse me?
- Newsmax host Carl Higbie responded to a hunger strike at the Delaney Hall ICE detention center, saying “If they want to not eat, that’s on them. I don’t really care. Saves us some taxpayer money, I guess.” Fox’s Greg Gutfeld also commented on the food in Delaney Hall, saying, “Maggots or not, the food is dietitian approved.”
- Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts argued “there ought to be certain restrictions against not just religions, but particular political implementations of religions.”
- Speaking about Iran, Fox’s Laura Ingraham admitted “All of their military sites, I guess, have not been destroyed.”
- In the 19 hours following the breaking news, Fox News failed to cover the Justice Department’s new criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, who previously won a civil judgment against Trump that he had sexually abused and defamed her. In contrast, all 12 CNN shows that aired after the news broke covered the story, and 7 of 8 such MS NOW programs covered it.

After New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled his plans to make affordable housing more available in the city, Fox News personalities and guests fixated on the plan’s efforts combating negligent landlords. They declared that enforcement against negligent landlords amounted to “public theft,” said it was a “throwback to Stalin,” and ranted that legal action to turn over properties from them to more responsible stewards will lead to “mass killing” and similar atrocities.

Fox hosts have also peddled the myth of tax flight, which you can read about here.