Overview
- Following Monday’s monologue on The Tucker Carlson Show, the conservative host called President Trump’s Easter post “vile,” said no president should mock Islam, and argued that promising to hit bridges and power plants amounts to targeting civilians.
- Trump responded Tuesday in comments to the New York Post by dismissing Carlson as “low IQ” and saying he prefers to deal with “smart people,” escalating a public feud inside his own political camp.
- The disputed post, sent Easter Sunday on Truth Social, threatened strikes on Iranian bridges and power plants if the Strait of Hormuz was not reopened by an 8 p.m. ET Tuesday deadline, a chokepoint that carries a large share of the world’s oil.
- Backlash spread across the spectrum as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries questioned Trump’s fitness, former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene called the message “evil,” Sen. Ron Johnson urged restraint on civilian sites, and activist Laura Loomer praised the threat.
- Iranian authorities reported at least 29 people killed by airstrikes Monday and roughly 1,900 deaths since the war began, while the continued fight and the Hormuz squeeze pressure global energy markets and deepen divisions over the U.S. strategy.