Fox News host Greg Gutfeld argued on "The Five" that President Donald Trump’s posture toward Iran reflects Trump’s own long-standing views rather than pressure from Israel, pointing to Trump remarks from the 1980s that advocated a hardline approach during the Iran hostage crisis and the Iran-Iraq war.
Greg Gutfeld, a co-host of Fox News’ "The Five," criticized claims that President Donald Trump’s Iran policy is being driven by Israel, arguing that Trump has publicly voiced tough views on Iran for decades.
During the segment, co-host Dana Perino said the criticism surfaced early in the current conflict, summarizing it as the allegation that “Israel made Trump do it.” Perino added that Trump and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt have rejected that characterization.
In the exchange, Gutfeld said critics across the political spectrum have advanced versions of the argument that Trump is acting at Israel’s direction in attacking Iran. The Daily Wire’s account of the segment cited figures including Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon and Rep. Ilhan Omar as examples of commentators and politicians who have raised claims about Israeli influence.
Gutfeld responded by pointing to Trump’s earlier remarks, saying the idea that Israel is dictating Trump’s actions “has been disproven by history” and arguing that Trump “telegraphed” his position decades ago, including references to Iran’s Kharg Island.
Trump made comments along those lines in a 1980 interview with Rona Barrett amid the Iran hostage crisis, describing the situation as “a horror.” When Barrett suggested he was advocating U.S. troops going into Iran to bring the hostages out, Trump replied: “I absolutely feel that, yes.”
Trump also made similar remarks in a 1988 Guardian interview by Polly Toynbee (published as “Towering Trump”), in which he said he would be “harsh on Iran” and added that if Iran fired “one bullet” at U.S. forces or ships, he would “do a number on Kharg Island” and “go in and take it.”
A clip of the "The Five" discussion circulated on X in a March 18, 2026, post from the account TV News Now, which the Daily Wire linked in its write-up.
