The Podcast Class Is Not America First. They're America Comfortable
What the Iran backlash from Carlson, Greene, and Rogan actually revealed about the podcast "right"
On Easter Sunday, Donald Trump posted an expletive-laden ultimatum to Iran, demanding the Strait of Hormuz be reopened, or he would destroy Iranian infrastructure. By the next day, some of his most prominent supporters were calling him a genocidal lunatic. Those weren’t Democrats. That was Tucker Carlson. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Candace Owens. The people who spent years building the MAGA brand are now burning it down in real time over foreign policy.
A ceasefire was announced Tuesday night. As of this writing, it barely qualifies as one; Iran’s own statement made clear that this does not signify the end of the war, and fighting has continued. Iran just added a new condition: it will not open the Strait while Israel continues operations in Lebanon. The U.S. and Israel say Lebanon isn’t part of the deal. So here we are. I don’t have a blanket opposition to this conflict; if it ultimately ends the Iran threat, that may prove to have been worth it. But that remains very much to be determined, and anyone telling you otherwise right now is selling you something.
What I do want to talk about is the tug-of-war over the America First flag. Because if this Iran conflict has accomplished anything, it's given us the full monty on how much of the large podcast class of the right has to do with conservatism, which turns out to be very little.
