Right-wing commentator Megyn Kelly has declared that she can no longer “trust a word” President Donald Trump says concerning the Iran war, voicing frustration over his contradictory statements and shifting deadlines for the conflict.
During an episode of The Megyn Kelly Show on Thursday, the former Fox News anchor hosted fellow anti-interventionist and ex-colleague Tucker Carlson to discuss a report from Axios indicating that Washington and Tehran are close to signing a one-page memorandum to end hostilities after nine weeks of confrontation.
“I hope the possibility of ending it is real,” Carlson remarked. “I’ve noticed that every time Axios announces an imminent end to the war, many people make substantial bets on oil futures just before the news breaks, presumably profiting from it, and then the ceasefire never materializes.”
Kelly responded, “I have no idea whether a 14-point deal exists or not. None whatsoever. I don’t trust a word President Trump says about this anymore. He’s told us 31 times that the Iran war is over, only to then tweet about bombing them into oblivion.”
Trump has issued a series of contradictory statements about the conflict since Operation Epic Fury commenced on February 28 with joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes. In early March, he claimed the battle was “won,” despite evidence to the contrary, and has consistently insisted that Iran is eager to sign a peace agreement—a claim the country’s theocratic regime has shown little interest in. His early April Truth Social posts, in which he called Iran “crazy bastards” and warned that “a whole civilization will die tonight,” caused particular alarm.
A fragile ceasefire has barely held since, though it appears jeopardized this week after the two sides exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump’s proposed “Project Freedom” initiative to guide oil ships through the passage immediately faced opposition. He has since reverted to threatening language, declaring on Monday that Iran would be “blown off the face of the earth” if it refused to change its ways.
Kelly and Carlson were not alone among conservatives in expressing concern about the reported 14-point peace plan. More hawkish MAGA pundit Mark Levin posted on X Thursday: “If the Axios report is close to accurate, the Iranian regime will survive, the Iranian people will face even more extensive brutality, and the Israeli government could fall in the October election. A disastrous result.”
Elsewhere in their conversation, Kelly and Carlson discussed Trump’s declining approval numbers and his political future, calling him “incompetent” compared to California Governor Gavin Newsom. They agreed that the state of the U.S. was “bad but could be worse” and that under Trump, the country had shown a tendency “to ping pong from one bad idea to another.”
Both claimed to have been targets of vitriol from “Israel First” commentators in recent weeks while gaining Muslim viewers, despite previously facing criticism for expressing views hostile to Islam. Carlson further alleged that he had told the president to his face that figures like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and press baron Rupert Murdoch secretly hate him, to which Trump reportedly answered vaguely: “I know.”
