Even one of President Donald Trump's most reliable defenders at Fox News appears to be losing the faith over the administration's Iran strategy.
Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade openly questioned Monday whether Trump grasps who is actually steering Iran's side of the talks — a day after the president torpedoed Tehran's latest counterproposal.
The moment came as Fox's chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst wrapped up a live update on the war, including reporting by The Wall Street Journal that Iran had offered to dilute some of its highly enriched uranium and ship the rest to a third country, while refusing to dismantle its nuclear facilities.
Kilmeade cut in with a challenge, according toMediaite.
"Trey, is the president to believe – does he know who he's dealing with?" Kilmeade asked. "Is he dealing with the foreign minister and speaker, or is he dealing with the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]?"
The Fox host kept going, calling the Iranian offer a "huge step back" and warning that the proposal looked like a "total nonstarter." He added: "Makes me think the IRGC has taken over."
Yingst pushed back, telling Kilmeade that Trump understands the dynamic even when Tehran trots out civilian officials. The IRGC hardliners, Yingst said, "are actually calling the shots and they are swaying the negotiations so that they ultimately get what they want."
The exchange landed less than 24 hours after Trump publicly rejected Iran's response on Truth Social.
"I have just read the response from Iran's so-called 'Representatives,'" Trump wrote Sunday. "I don't like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!"
The Washington Postreported Sunday that Tehran's offer was delivered through Pakistani mediators and that the ceasefire that took hold in April is again being tested by drone strikes and incidents in the Persian Gulf.
Iranian state media said Tehran's counterproposal sought recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and compensation for war damages, and that nuclear issues would be hashed out over the next 30 days, CNN reported.
Kilmeade's skepticism is notable because of his long record as a Trump cheerleader on the network the president watches most closely.