President Donald Trump’s decision to bomb key nuclear sites in Iran over the weekend has made strange bedfellows across the political spectrum. Opposition to the military intervention has united factions of the far left and MAGA right, while support has brought together neocons and moderate Democrats.
For those who remember the 2016 election, perhaps the most surprising alignment came when former Florida governor and failed Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush publicly praised Trump’s actions – and Trump, in turn, publicly thanked the man he once knocked as “low energy.”
On Tuesday’s show, Megyn was joined by the hosts of The Fifth Column – Kmele Foster, Michael Moynihan, and Matt Welch – to discuss Bush’s support of Trump and how the public will perceive the president’s handling of Iran.
The Praise
In a show of support that wasn’t on anyone’s 2025 Bingo card, Bush called President Trump’s decision “to neutralize Iran’s regime’s nuclear program” a “watershed moment” that “reasserts U.S. strength, restores deterrence, and sends an unmistakable message to rogue regimes: the era of impunity is over” in a post on X.
Bush posted the statement on Sunday as part of a larger response from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), of which he serves as chairman, praising the president’s actions. On Tuesday, Trump highlighted the former governor’s support on Truth Social along with the caption: “Thank you to Jeb Bush — Very much appreciated!”
The History
Given the fraught history between the two men, the exchange sent shockwaves through the political world. Megyn recalled her connection to the Bush-Trump spat dating back to the 2016 Republican primary.
“When [Bush] was running for president against Trump in [2015/2016], he gave me his first interview… and I asked him, knowing what we know now, would you have authorized the invasion of Iraq like your brother did. And he said yes and didn’t say that it was a mistake,” she explained. “Then he went out on the presidential debate stage, and Trump, this outsider, comes in from nowhere and starts hammering him on it.”
Megyn said Bush tried to clarify his position, but the damage was done. “Many people would later say at that point his candidacy was killed in its crib because that was the wrong answer by 2016… It was an obvious mistake,” she noted. “[And the debate moment] was totally fraught, and that really helped propel Donald Trump – that debate and him hammering Jeb Bush – straight to the nomination and then the presidency.”
That is what makes this current back and forth so “remarkable” in her view. “It is a remarkable full circle moment now to see Jeb Bush praising Trump for an aggressive military action in the Middle East and Trump accepting the compliment and sort of glad handing with now what is clearly a high energy Jeb,” Megyn added.
Where the Public Stands
The proverbial burying of the hatchet comes amid infighting within the GOP and the MAGA movement over whether Trump should have gotten involved in the conflict at all. Those in the more isolationist camp, like Tucker Carlson, have been squaring off against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mark Levin, and others.
But where will the American people ultimately come down on the issue? CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten shared new numbers on Tuesday that showed Republicans seem to overwhelmingly support Trump’s actions. According to averages taken from a CNN/SSRS poll and a Reuters/Ipsos survey, 76 percent of Republicans back the Iran strikes, while 18 percent disapprove.
“This shows you something about the supposed split between the kind of isolationists and the more traditional Republicans, or so-called neocons,” Moynihan said. “That is a kind of Twitter debate in a lot of ways because, if you look at the polling… it suggests the people that are not interested in neoconservatism, not interested in American adventurism abroad, or installing new governments, are okay with what Trump did.”
While those figures are isolated to the GOP, Megyn expects to see Trump’s overall approval rating remain strong. “He is crushing it in the polls right now… [and] we’ll see whether this has increased or decreased the numbers,” she said. “I think it is going to increase, even though people are not in favor of war with Iran and, in advance of the dropping of the bomb, were not in favor of dropping the bomb. But Trump is so transparent about everything, I think it’s going to go well.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with The Fifth Column by tuning in to episode 1,094 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.