Ben Meiselas: Laura Ingraham Again Says She 'Wasn't a Fan' of Iran War

Fox News host Laura Ingraham told viewers on Tuesday night that she "wasn't a fan" of the war with Iran, a description at odds with the enthusiastic support she voiced on air during the war's opening days, according to archived clips compiled by Mediaite and Media Matters for America.

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas played Ingraham's clip on Wednesday's episode of his podcast and accused her of rewriting her own record.

"She did it again. It's like her new thing, pretending that she never supported the war," Meiselas said. "I could pull out dozens of clips of Laura Ingraham saying, 'And now we're going to get oil cheaper, and now we're going to get more resources, and now we're going to be stronger.'"

What Laura Ingraham Said on Tuesday

Ingraham addressed President Donald Trump's speech to the United Nations during a segment on The Ingraham Angle. "You all know my views on the Iran war. I wasn't a fan of starting it in the first place, going in there in the first place," she said. "I understand. I don't see the intelligence, but that was my view."

She added that Trump "said he has a big decision to make, and it's going to be essentially cut a deal after the midterms, or go in all in, and the word 'annihilation' is being thrown down. I don't like that, but nevertheless, a strong, decisive series of blows that could change the dynamic, but we've also kind of heard that before, have we not?"

"You all know my views on the Iran war. I wasn't a fan of starting it in the first place, going in there in the first place." — Laura Ingraham

The Documented Record on the Iran War

The war began on February 28, 2026, when Trump ordered strikes on Iran. Before that date, Ingraham voiced mild skepticism: on January 12 she said the United States "does not have the best track record when it comes to regime change in the Middle East," and on February 27 she raised concerns about "energy prices," according to Media Matters.

Her tone shifted within days. On March 2, three days into the campaign, Ingraham told viewers, "Only a few days into military strikes, none of the major objections to this action withstand serious scrutiny." On March 5 she declared, "Trump has already won in Iran."

Her position did not stay settled. On March 26 she warned of "cascading problems for the region." Four days later, on March 30, she questioned whether Trump had been "fully briefed about the risks of all of this from the beginning," before reversing the following day and telling viewers she was "choosing not to panic," a swing documented at the time by Media Matters.

By July, Ingraham was urging an exit. "With the midterm elections a little more than 100 days away, the clock is ticking for President Trump to get out of this war before voters head to the polls," she said on July 21, citing a Washington Post/Ipsos poll showing 69 percent of Americans disapproved of the administration's handling of the conflict, according to HuffPost. "Republicans cannot let this become an endless distraction, especially if they want to win in November," she added.

Fox News did not respond to a request for comment from PolitiKool, and Ingraham has not publicly addressed the contradiction.

Ben Meiselas Ties the Reversal to Trump's UN Speech

Meiselas framed Ingraham's comments as part of a broader retreat by pro-Trump media as the war grows less popular. Referring to her "you all know my views" line, he said, "Your views were that you're a Trump bootlicker."

Trump's speech on Tuesday supplied the backdrop. "Do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?" the president asked the General Assembly, before predicting, "I believe we'll make a deal right after the election because it doesn't make sense for them not to," NBC News reported. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff later met Iranian officials through a mediator on the sidelines of the gathering after Tehran declined to meet directly.

Meiselas said Iran's demands, including an end to the naval blockade and the release of frozen funds, mirror what it has sought since the war began. "Whether you like the points or you don't like the points, undisputed, those points have not changed," he said.

What Polling Shows About the Iran War

Public opinion on the war has not shifted in Trump's favor. A Quinnipiac University poll of registered voters conducted July 23 to 27 found 60 percent opposed U.S. military action in Iran and 34 percent supported it. Trump's overall standing has slipped as well: PolitiKool's polling average puts his approval at 38.3 percent and disapproval at 58.7 percent, a net approval of minus 20.4 points.

What Happens Next

Trump has said a deal will likely wait until after the November elections, and Ingraham's own July deadline for an exit has passed. Whether other Fox hosts follow her lead in distancing themselves from the war, and whether Trump's "annihilation" language hardens into policy, remain open questions heading into the final weeks of the midterm campaign.