Trump launches broadside against 'low IQ' right-wing influencers amid Iran war pushback

US President Donald Trump strongly rebuked a handful of prominent right-wing media personalities who have recently become vocal critics of his decision to wage war against Iran.

Trump accused Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones of being "nut jobs, troublemakers," and having "low IQs."

"These so-called 'pundits' are losers, and they always will be! Now fake news CNN, the failing New York Times, and all of the other radical left "news" organizations, are 'hailing' them, and giving them 'positive' press for the first time in their lives. They're not 'MAGA,' they're losers, just trying to latch on to MAGA," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

"As president, I could get them on my side anytime I want to, but when they call, I don't return their calls because I'm too busy on world and country affairs and, after a few times, they go 'nasty,' just like Marjorie 'traitor,' Brown, but I no longer care about that stuff, I only care about doing right for our country," he added in a lengthy post.

He was referring to Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time close ally of the president who had a falling out over her demand that Trump's Justice Department release its trove of documents related to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Carlson, Kelly, Owens, and Jones have long played a critical role in Trump's MAGA movement but have increasingly spoken out against his foreign policy decisions, particularly after he went to war with Iran. That decision, perhaps more than any other in his over one year in office, jeopardizes Trump's campaign pledge to keep the US out of "endless" conflicts.

Trump announced Tuesday that the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire following mediation by Pakistan. The first round of US-Iran negotiations over a permanent end to the war is slated to begin Saturday in Islamabad, Pakistan, with Vice President JD Vance leading Washington's delegation.

Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 3,000 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, as well as Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets. Iran has also restricted the movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.