President Trump launched a scathing 482-word attack on conservative podcasters Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones via Truth Social on Thursday, assailing their opposition to the war in Iran and questioning their intelligence. Trump dismissed the quartet, who have been critical of his recent rhetoric regarding Iran, as having "Low IQs" and being "stupid people."
The president's sharpest barbs were reserved for Owens and Jones, two conspiracy-minded figures who have recently called for his removal from office. This broadside follows weeks of criticism from all four media personalities, which Trump had largely ignored until now.
The current round of tension began with Trump's profane Easter Sunday post, where he declared Iran would be "living in Hell" if it did not open the Strait of Hormuz. Carlson responded by calling Trump’s threats "evil" and urged administration officials to resist him. Kelly, meanwhile, questioned if Trump "can’t he just behave like a normal human?" after he threatened to wipe out Iranian civilization. Jones described Trump as sounding "like an unhinged super villain from a Marvel comic movie."
In his detailed Truth Social post, Trump personally insulted each figure:
The NY Times reports Trump concluded his post by declaring, "These so-called ‘pundits’ are LOSERS, and they always will be!" All four podcasters command significant audiences, with some episodes exceeding one million listeners.
- He called Carlson a "broken man" who has "never been the same" since leaving Fox News.
- He rekindled an old feud with Kelly, accusing her of treating him "nastily" during a 2015 debate.
- He commented on Owens's appearance, unfavorably comparing her to Brigitte Macron, referencing Owens's past claims about the French First Lady.
- He criticized Jones for saying "some of the dumbest things," specifically citing his "horrendous" false claims about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
Both Owens and Jones directly responded to Trump's statement, where he said that they, Carlson and Kelly were 'NUT JOBS, TROUBLEMAKERS' and 'stupid people' for their skepticism toward the Iran War.
'It may be time to put Grandpa up in a home,' Owens wrote on social media, highlighting several of the insults Trump made.
Jones spoke at length about his relationship to Trump after the Truth Social post and in a bit of reverse psychology, was grateful to the President for showing the space between them.
'I have made it very clear that I no longer support Trump and I’m very thankful to him for making it clear that I have nothing to do with him. The new Trump is a rotting husk of the old Trump,' he wrote.
Carlson and Kelly have yet to speak publicly about Trump's comments but will likely address it on their respective shows Friday.