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Right-wing podcaster denies setting the fire that burned MAGA down

Semafor reports Texas plastic surgeon Keith Rose was “patient zero” for one of the worst conspiracy theories chewing MAGA to pieces in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

“In the hours after Charlie Kirk’s assassination on Sept. 10, his executive producer Andrew Kolvet took a call in the hospital where Kirk’s body still lay,” reports Semafor writers Ben Smith and Shelby Scott. “On the other end of the line was an occasional guest on the Charlie Kirk Show, Keith Rose, a Texas plastic surgeon and former military doctor who doubles as a geopolitical and intelligence commentator on conservative podcasts.

At the time of the call, Trump’s FBI had failed to identify or capture Kirk’s killer, so perhaps it should have been a surprise when Rose told Kolvet that two other conservative media figures, Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens, had actually been the assassin’s original targets, and could still be next.

Where was Rose getting his info? “He had picked [it] up,” reports Semafor. But that lack of sourcing did not stop Kolvet from sending the info along to Owens.

“I passed along the information to her because who wouldn’t, given the extraordinary circumstances and everything that had happened that day,” Kolvet said in a statement to Semafor.

What followed was a battalion of “paranoia and finger-pointing,” which “has consumed the American right,” reports Semafor.

“A death that, for a moment, seemed to unite the right instead cut rifts in the movement that have deepened since the Iran war began,” said Semafor. “And Rose’s call to a still-grieving Kolvet may be the match that lit a still-burning pyre of conspiracy theories and unfounded charges of an Israeli plot against the murdered conservative icon.”

Within weeks, Semafor said Owens was on her show and “amplifying claims about a potential Israeli government role in Kirk’s assassination,” claiming without evidence that assassin Tyler Robinson didn’t act alone.

“[Kolvet] called me from the hospital and said it was supposed to be me, and I was on his list, and so was Tucker Carlson,” Owens told Semafor. Kolvet didn’t tell her where he’d gotten the information, she added.

Kolvet later piled more kindling to the fire, claiming he’d met Rose in DC and “saw a written dossier further detailing Rose’s allegations, a document that Rose indicated would be passed on to President Donald Trump’s aides,” according to Semafor. But an administration source told Semafor: “The allegations made by this individual were handed to the administration, and every actionable lead was run down and could not be proven.”

Rose, himself, denies being the source of the lie, telling Semafor: “I have no idea what you are talking about” before clamming up and refusing to speak further.

But rumors burn bright in the MAGA word, and Kolvet spread Rose’s claim far and wide, making it “the first of a torrent of claims and counterclaims shared by conservative commentators after Kirk’s death.”

“The conspiracy theories got louder after Kolvet shared text messages in which Kirk had complained about pro-Israel donors with Joe Kent, who resigned as Trump’s counterterrorism adviser over Iran, and other fellow conservatives,” said Semafor.

Eventually the flame got high enough for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu having to openly deny Israel’s involvement in Kirk’s death.

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Right-wing bishop rebukes his own as MAGA civil war engulfs the Catholic Church

For a time, MAGA had its own “Catholic Coalition” manned by right-wing stalwarts over issues like abortion and similar traditional values,” said Letters from Leo writer Christopher Hale. But President Donald Trump’s self-imposed war in Iran is now blasting even that MAGA alliance to pieces.

“For years, Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester has been the Catholic right’s most careful diplomat — a man who built a media empire by threading the needle between orthodoxy and the MAGA movement, rarely picking fights he didn’t have to pick,” said Hale.

Barron was careful to never directly contradict MAGA arguments online while going head-to-head with liberal politicians over birth control. But recently the claims of one MAGA influencer was one bridge too far.

In a lengthy public statement, the bishop addressed Catholic convert and Former Miss California Carrie Prejean Boller’s claims that “anti-Catholic” persecution and “Zionist” control of the U.S. Religious Liberty Commission was the reason for her removal in February.

President Donald Trump created the commission to draft a report on how to encourage religious liberty, and it is tasked to collect personal accounts from Jewish Americans who have faced antisemitism.

While the Commission’s was collecting interviews Boller was apparently keeping her own tabs.

“Since we’ve mentioned Israel a total of 17 times, are you willing to condemn what Israel has done in Gaza?” Boller asked one witness. “You won’t condemn that? Just on the record.”

Boller then turned on the commission after a smattering of “boos.”

“Catholics do not embrace Zionism, just so you know. So are all Catholics antisemites?” the demanded of the panel, which Jewish Insider described as “a mix of Jewish professionals, Christian activists and members of the Washington Jewish community. “I want to be clear on what the definition of antisemitism is. If I don’t support the political state of Israel, am I an antisemite, yes or no?”

The Religious Liberty Commission chairman removed Boller from the commission soon after, claiming “no member of the Commission has the right to hijack a hearing for their own personal and political agenda.”

Anti-Israel social influencer Candace Owens quickly tweeted her support of Boller and slammed the Commission: “Carrie didn’t hijack anything. You hosted a performative Zionist hearing meant to neuter the Christian faith.”

The MAGA fold are divvying themselves into two warring factions over Trump’s invasion of Iran, with one team arguing that Trump is being led on a leash by Israel to attack Iran. Owens and Influencer Tucker Carlson number themselves among that group.

But now the aloof Bishop Robert Barron is drawn into the fray.

“… Boller has complained that she was removed from the Presidential Commission on Religious Liberty because of her Catholic beliefs, and she has called out myself and other Catholic members of the commission for not defending her. This is absurd,” said Barron on X. “… Boller was not dismissed for her religious convictions but rather for her behavior at a gathering of the Commission last month: browbeating witnesses, aggressively asserting her point of view, hijacking the meeting for her own political purposes.”

Barron added that the Catholic position “on matters of ‘Zionism,’ to which I fully subscribe, is as follows: all forms of antisemitism are to be unequivocally condemned; the state of Israel has a right to exist; but the modern nation of Israel does not represent the fulfillment of Biblical prophecies and hence does not stand beyond criticism.”

“If Mrs. Prejean Boller were dismissed for holding these beliefs, it is difficult to understand why I am still a member of the Commission,” Barron insisted. “To paint herself as a victim of anti-Catholic prejudice or to claim that her religious liberty has been denied is simply preposterous.”

Hale says Barron’s intervention shows the festering anti-Israel wound inside of MAGA is boiling into its major organs and threatening the whole body.

“The aftermath has been just as revealing,” reports Hale. “It shows that the burgeoning civil war among the Evangelical and Catholic Right is just beginning and threatens the presidential ambitions of both JD Vance and Marco Rubio [who are both Catholic].”

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'Said the same thing with more words': Press secretary’s Fox News fact-check backfires

Daily Beast reports that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt bristled at Fox News' description of President Donald Trump sending U.S. troops to Israel to enforce a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian leaders.

Trump announced Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had “signed off on the first phase” of his plan to end the war in Gaza, which involves an exchange of hostages between Israeli and Palestine.

Fox News’ X account announced the victory on Thursday evening, posting, “BREAKING: U.S. troops headed to Israel to support historic peace deal.”

Leavitt took the framing of the message badly.

“This is NOT true and taken out of context,” Leavitt responded on X within an hour of the post. “To be clear: up to 200 U.S. personnel, who are already stationed at CENTCOM, will be tasked with monitoring the peace agreement in Israel, and they will work with other international forces on the ground.”

CENTCOM, also known as the United States Central Command, directs military operations in over the "central" area of the globe located between the European, Africa and Indo-Pacific Commands.

Commenters on social media demanded to know how her statement diverged from that of Fox News.

“So let’s get this straight — D.C. says ‘not true’ but then admits 200 U.S. personnel are being deployed to monitor Israel’s peace deal,” posted one critic. “Call it what you want — ‘monitoring,’ ‘support,’ ‘liaison’ — but it’s still U.S. boots on the ground in a foreign conflict. If this is ‘out of context,’ then the context is Americans once again being sent overseas while our own borders, streets, and vets get ignored.”

“You just said the same thing with more words,” said another X user.

“In a race to the bottom, there is no winner,” posted another.

Other comments suggest Leavitt may be legitimately wary of upsetting “America First” MAGA elements that comprise a sizable portion of Trump’s base.

“I did not vote for the George Bush/Dick Cheney and neoconservative agenda!” said one critic.

The Daily Beast reports Fox News appeared to catch on to the motive, posting “BREAKING: The U.S. plans to utilize up to 200 troops already in the middle east to help support and monitor the ceasefire deal in Gaza as part of a team involving various nations, a senior official told Fox News.”

Read the Daily Beast report at this link.

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'Not so sure': One of Trump's biggest Senate supporters publicly doubts 'ceasefire' claim

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) expressed doubt about President Donald Trump’s hopeful stance on the ceasefire he negotiated between Israel and Iran. Graham told Fox News on Tuesday that he “was not so sure” it would amount to much.

Graham, who is one of the biggest supporters of Trump and his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, told America Reports that the ceasefire holds little significance if Iran continues uranium enrichment.

Earlier on Tuesday, U.S. intelligence informed CNN initial assessments indicate the recent Saturday bombing did not obliterate the nuclear sites.

“I am not so sure we have solved the problem yet,” Graham stated, in remarks highlighted by the Daily Beast.

He added that he would feel optimistic only once Iran formally affirms “Israel’s right to exist as a nation” and recognizes “the Jewish people’s right to live in peace."

“When they say that, I will have a sense of optimism I don’t have today,” the South Carolina Republican added.

He also said he was not in favor of an actual regime change in Iran, but added that he supports “regime change in this sense: for Iran to abandon its desire to destroy Israel, to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a nation.”

“That to me is not too much to ask of the Iranians,” he said.

On Monday, Graham welcomed Trump's decision to strike Iran.

"By destroying Iran's nuclear facilities, by using B-2 bombers, helping Israel, but delivering a decisive blow, which was bold and brilliant, President Trump let every other adversary in the world know Joe Biden doesn't live in the White House anymore. There's a new sheriff in town," Graham said on Fox News.

AlterNet reached out to the State Department for comment.

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'We've been lied to': MTG says Trump's actions have exposed a 'very big divide' in the GOP

One of President Donald Trump's loudest supporters in Congress has become increasingly vocal in her opposition to his latest decision to conduct strikes on Iran.

CNN reported Monday that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is now directly warning her party that the "very big divide" could end up costing Republicans their majorities in Congress next year if the GOP becomes bogged down in another foreign war while Americans' material needs go unmet. The Georgia Republican sought to stake out common ground between herself and the president, telling CNN that both she and Trump were elected on a promise of "no more foreign wars, no more regime change."

"We’ve been lied to too many times, and I think it’s right to be skeptical," Greene said in response to a question about whether Trump's policies risked losing the support of the MAGA faithful.

"If this war were to continue, and we were to see, sadly, see American troops coming home with on flag-draped coffins, I think you would see Americans totally saying the same thing I’m saying, I hope that never happens again," Greene said, emphasizing that she still believes "President Trump has us on a path to peace."

According to Greene — who has consistently opposed sending resources to Ukraine in its war with Russia — American voters are expecting their leaders to put their concerns front and center, arguing that voters are "very much focused on their American life and their American problems." And she said that new escalations in the Middle East could prove to be a tipping point for many voters next fall.

"Republicans need to earn Americans’ votes," she said. "I don’t think we’re earning our votes in the midterm, and that’s on Congress."

Greene unleashed on the Trump administration on social media earlier on Monday, saying that as a 51 year-old American, she had "watched our country go to war in foreign lands for foreign causes on behalf of foreign interests for as long as I can remember." And she added that while she supports Israel's right to defend itself, she opposed U.S. military involvement in Israeli matters.

Click here to read CNN's full report.

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'Deception': Top Iranian official directly refutes Trump's claim of 'ceasefire'

On Monday, President Donald Trump suddenly declared a "ceasefire" had been reached between Israel and Iran in what he asked the media to call the "12-day war." But one senior Iranian official says Trump is lying.

CNN reported Monday evening — shortly after Trump posted about the supposed ceasefire on his Truth Social account — that an unnamed top official in the Iranian government said they never received a ceasefire proposal from Israel or the United States. The source also described Trump's post as "a deception" that seemed designed to convince Iran to let down its guard.

"At this very moment, the enemy is committing aggression against Iran, and Iran is on the verge of intensifying its retaliatory strikes, with no ear to listen to the lies of its enemies," the source told CNN.

Trump's post about a ceasefire came just hours after Iran attacked a U.S. military base in Qatar, which in turn followed the U.S. bombing of several of Iran's nuclear facilities over the weekend. Trump insisted in his post that the "ceasefire" was agreed upon by both Israel and Iran in which the latter would cease hostilities in six hours, while the former would cease their own military actions after a 12-hour period.

"This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will!" Trump wrote. "God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!"

Tensions had been escalating between Israel and Iran in June, after Israel conducted a series of strikes and accused its primary rival in the Middle East of developing nuclear weapons. Iran retaliated with a series of missile strikes on Tel Aviv, most of which were shot down by Israel's Iron Dome.

Initially, Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio distanced the U.S. from Israel's bombings, and insisted that Israel "took unilateral action." However, last weekend's strikes marked the first time the U.S. military became officially involved in Israel's conflict with Iran since Trump's second term began in January.

Click here to read CNN's report.

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'Still waiting': Trump gets brutally mocked for 'fake deadlines' after 'two weeks' remark

President Donald Trump is teasing his response to the Israel-Iran conflict, recently promising that he will make an official decision "within two weeks." Journalists who have heard that phrase from the president in the past aren't so sure he'll follow through.

That includes one reporter who asked White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt during her Thursday briefing if Trump was actually going to make a decision on how to proceed. The reporter reminded Leavitt of prior instances in which Trump failed to make good on two-week deadlines.

"President Trump has said previously in regard to Russia, he's used the phrase 'two weeks' several times, in terms of like, 'we expect a two-week deadline,' then we get another two-week deadline," the reporter said. "How can be sure that he's going to stick to this one on making a decision on Iran?"

"Well in those deadlines, as you've seen in respect to Russia-Ukraine — might I add, these are two very different complicated global conflicts as you know, that the president in inherited from our previous incompetent president," Leavitt said, heaping blame on former President Joe Biden for the escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Other observers on social media also expressed skepticism that Trump would actually be ready to announce an official policy on Iran two weeks from now. CNN medical analyst Jonathan Reiner tweeted that he was "still waiting for the healthcare plan," in reference to Trump promising a comprehensive healthcare reform plan in 2020 that he said was coming in two weeks (he never announced it). The Kaiser Family Foundation also compiled a timeline of all the instances in which Trump teased a soon-to-be-released healthcare proposal that never materialized, dating all the way back to his 2016 candidacy.

"The health care plan! It's coming," Washington Post columnist Karen Tumulty tweeted. Washington Post tech reporter simply tweeted the text "Elon fans" with an image of the HBO show "Westworld" in which James Marsden's character is standing at a gallows with a noose around his neck saying, "first time?"

"He is lowkey relatable with his fake deadlines," one X user observed.

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'Torqued in favor of the president': Reporters rip Leavitt for dodging softball question

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt urged supporters of President Donald Trump to "trust" him in response to a reporter's question about the Israel-Iran war during a briefing on Thursday.

"What's your message to everyday Trump supporters....who voted for Trump to stop the wars?" a reporter asked.

"Trust in President Trump. President Trump has incredible instincts," Leavitt said.

Leavitt also informed reporters during the briefing Thursday that Trump is weighing whether to take direct action against Iran and is expected to reach a decision within the next two weeks.

Meanwhile, both the reporter's question and Leavitt's response drew ridicule on social media.

CNN reporter Edward-Isaac Dovere wrote on the social platform X: "Hard to imagine an interaction in any previous White House's briefing room where the question would have been so nonchalantly torqued in favor of the president and the answer would have been as simple as just accept that whatever the president is doing is correct."

Journalist Patt Marrissonm, reacting to Leavitt's remarks, said: "Are they going to start putting that on the coinage and currency of the United States, replacing 'In God We Trust'?"

"Since these planted people are in the White House Press Briefings as a kind of scripted Kabuki theater performance, it’s probably a good sign," wrote policy strategist Alexander McCoy.

"'In Trump We Trust' is not a sound basis for a system of government," wrote a user.

Some of Trump's supporters, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), have warned against military involvement with Iran, saying it would go against his campaign promise to keep the U.S. out of overseas conflicts. But figures like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have advocated for a tougher stance, arguing that Iran represents a serious national security threat.

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'Fractured his base': MAGA activists warn Trump against 'catastrophe' of a new foreign war

The prospect of President Donald Trump entering the United States into another foreign conflict is a significant source of tension among his base of supporters.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that the interventionist wing of the Republican Party and the "America First" MAGA faction of the GOP have been increasingly combative with each other since Israel new offensive against Iran (and the resulting Iranian counterattacks). MAGA podcaster Candace Owens recently expressed concern that Trump was widening the rift in the party by flirting with a new foreign entanglement.

"Trump just fractured his base, I believe he just fractured his base," she said. "Effectively, MAGA was a declaration of war on neocons, right? On the people who always come up with a reason for us to send our sons and daughters overseas."

Recently, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) fired back at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) after the latter raged against those in the GOP who were "slobbering" at the prospect of another war. The South Carolina Republican insisted that Iran was too dangerous to ignore, and that the U.S. had a responsibility to stand by its top Middle Eastern ally.

"I like Marjorie, but to be honest with you, she doesn't understand the threat, in my view," Graham told Fox News host John Roberts on Tuesday. "If you don't understand that Iran, a religious theocracy, religious Nazis, would use a nuclear weapon to kill all the Jews, you don't listen to what they say."

But the MAGA wing of the GOP has appeared to draw a line in the sand when it comes to the prospect of a new war with Iran. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) recently cosponsored a War Powers Resolution with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) with the intent of preventing Trump from unilaterally declaring war. Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk — an Arizona-based political organizer aligned with the MAGA movement — opined that "regime change in Iran would be a catastrophe." And far-right social media personality Jack Posobiec warned that Trump would no longer have the political capital to accomplish his domestic policy agenda if he committed the U.S. military to helping Israel topple the Islamic theocracy.

"A direct strike on Iran right now would disastrously split the Trump coalition," he tweeted.

Click here to read the Times' full report (subscription required).

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'She doesn't understand': Pro-Trump senator goes on rant about Marjorie Taylor Greene

A recent spat between a longtime Senate Republican and far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is exposing a growing rift in the MAGA coalition — particularly as tensions between Israel and Iran increase by the day.

Earlier this week, Greene tweeted her disapproval of hawkish voices within the Republican Party that she said were "slobbering" at the opportunity to get the United States involved in another war in the Middle East. The Georgia Republican insisted that Americans were "sick and tired of foreign wars" and that the MAGA movement "wants world peace for all people and doesn’t want our military killed and forever injured physically and mentally."

"We have spent TRILLIONS in the Middle East and we have dealt with the aftermath of death, blown apart bodies, never ending suicides, and disabling PTSD," she tweeted. "All because they told us propaganda as to why we must sacrifice our own to defend some other country’s borders and some other country’s borders."

Newsweek reported Tuesday that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) took offense at Greene's argument that Republicans who wanted to help Israel fight Iran were insufficiently MAGA. Graham lamented to Fox News host John Roberts that Greene wasn't approaching the threat of a potential nuclear-armed seriously as a geopolitical threat.

"I like Marjorie, but to be honest with you, she doesn't understand the threat, in my view," Graham told Roberts. "If you don't understand that Iran, a religious theocracy, religious Nazis, would use a nuclear weapon to kill all the Jews, you don't listen to what they say."

"They're a threat to us, they're a threat to the state of Israel," Graham continued. "It is not in the world's interest to give this religious fanatic a nuclear weapon."

The intensifying Israel-Iran conflict has resulted in President Donald Trump posting to his Truth Social platform that while he could "take out" Iran's supreme leader, he was refraining from doing so for now and instead calling for his "unconditional surrender." Meanwhile, Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) have introduced bipartisan legislation that invokes the War Powers Act, in which Congress can prevent a president from unilaterally declaring war for 60-90 days provided the U.S. isn't directly attacked.

Click here to read Newsweek's full article.

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Trump 'made a mockery of all of us': MAGA devotees revolt over foreign policy about-face

Politico reports President Donald Trump’s own MAGA devotees warned him of Israel’s penchant for military escalation. Now the retaliation is setting in.

"The White House claims it played no part in the strikes on Tehran’s nuclear facilities Thursday night,” says Politico. Tehran was even slated to meet with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff over the weekend for peace talks, but now the U.S. is in a precarious place considering it unilaterally funds nearly a third of Israel’s military machine. Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu's strike also threatens to pull the U.S. deeper into Middle East conflict — to the chagrin of a huge swathe of Trump's MAGA base.

“What the president does from here could end up defining his presidency,” Breitbart MAGA content producer Matt Boyle told Politico hours after the attack. “He has to balance protecting America’s greatest ally in the region in Israel with avoiding getting the USA drawn into war.”

Other MAGA personalities are not so civil.

“Israel has now made a mockery of the United States,” said Breaking Points host Saagar Enjeti, on X. Earlier Enjeti predicted “a war with Iran would make the disastrous war in Iraq look like a cakewalk.”

Enjeti initially painted Trump as a victim of Israel’s indifference, saying Trump “said he did not want strikes ahead of negotiations,” and that the “attack … is deliberate sabotage and a blatant attempt to force us into war. We must resist.”

But in a quick turn of allegiance, Enjeti later agonized that “Trump has now praised Israel’s strike, affirmed US material support; and Israeli media is reporting his public opposition was a disinformation campaign to mislead Iran.”

“So, in other words, Trump — not Israel — has made a mockery of all of us wanted to avoid this war,” Enjeti concluded.

Trump ally Charlie Kirk went live with his supporters in the aftermath of the attack and admitted “ … you guys ... are not thrilled with this situation at all.”

He added that the strike raises the fundamental question of “How does the America First foreign policy doctrine and foreign policy agenda … stay consistent with this right now?”

Politico reports the strike against Tehran may also have been a strike against Trump’s claim of strength, with “some of the most high-profile figures of the movement [taking] to social media, podcasts and television imploring Trump to intervene to stop it, believing that he actually could.”

In the hours before the violence, Kirk had argued that allowing the Israeli strike “would be seen as an unforgivable betrayal by millions of American voters.”

Also, just before the strike, Politico reports right-wing activist Jack Posobiec warned the economic and political impact to the White House could be disastrous, with “a new Middle East conflict with Iran” hitting “summer gas prices” just in time for the midterms.

This morning the New York Times reported U.S. stocks opened lower after the strikes, “which rattled investors and sent oil prices sharply higher.”

Read the full Politico report at this link.

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