Revealed: Trump's War Plan Rejected in Devastating New Poll

White House weighing ground assault on Iranian oil facilities, grieving father suggests Hegseth lied about their interaction, Bari Weiss takes chainsaw to CBS

Good morning.

Only 7 percent of Americans support a ground invasion of Iran, but the Pentagon is asking Congress for $200 billion more to fund this war. Pete Hegseth told the country that grieving military families urged him to “finish” the fight in Iran. The father of one of those fallen service members says that conversation never happened. CBS News is laying off dozens of journalists as Bari Weiss tightens her grip on the newsroom. And the White House is weighing an assault on Iran’s primary oil export island that senior officials say would almost certainly require boots on the ground. Let’s get into it.

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7 Percent. That’s How Many Americans Want a Ground War in Iran.

A new poll of more than 1,500 U.S. adults finds that just 7 percent would support Trump carrying out a large-scale ground invasion of Iran. Only 34 percent would support sending special forces. A majority, 55 percent, oppose deploying any ground troops at all. And nearly two-thirds of Americans believe Trump will eventually order a large-scale ground war anyway.

Overall, the Iran war is approved by just 37 percent of U.S. adults. About one in five Republicans opposes it. More than half of American households say they have already felt the impact of rising gas prices from the conflict.

Trump has said he does not want boots on the ground, while also saying he is “not afraid” of putting them there. “I’m not putting troops anywhere,” he told a reporter Thursday. “If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you.” That is not reassurance. That is a threat delivered with a smile.

The Pentagon is now requesting an additional $200 billion from Congress to fund the war. Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego put that number in context: “At the height of combat, the Iraq War cost around $140 billion per year. If the Pentagon is asking for $200 billion, they are asking for a long war.”

Trump has repeatedly insisted the conflict will be over soon. The Pentagon’s funding request tells a different story.

White House Weighing Assault on Iran’s Main Oil Export Island

Senior administration officials are actively discussing an assault on Kharg Island, the facility in the northern Persian Gulf through which Iran processes nearly all of its crude oil exports. The goal would be to pressure Iran into reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Senior officials have confirmed that any such operation, whether a blockade or an occupation, would require ground troops.

More than 2,500 Marines have already been deployed to the region, with two more units of similar size reportedly on the way.

Sources described the emerging thinking inside the administration plainly. “He wants Hormuz open. If he has to take Kharg Island to make it happen, that’s going to happen.” Another source laid out a timeline: “We need about a month to weaken the Iranians more with strikes, take the island and then get them by the balls and use it for negotiations.”

That is the plan being discussed in the White House three weeks into a war the president said would be swift. Seizing a heavily fortified Iranian island in the Persian Gulf, while 7 percent of the American public supports a ground invasion, while oil is at $111 a barrel, while the Pentagon is asking for $200 billion more.

Trump said he is not afraid of any of it. The 13 families who have already received flag-draped caskets did not get a vote on that.

CBS Lays Off Dozens as Bari Weiss Reshapes the Newsroom

CBS News announced layoffs Friday, with sources saying the cuts could affect close to 60 people, roughly 6 percent of the news division’s workforce. Editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and CBS News President Tom Cibrowski informed staff in a memo that the reductions were necessary to adapt to a changing media landscape and make room for what they called the things the network “must build to remain competitive.”

This round of cuts is widely seen inside the network as being driven by Weiss herself, marking the most significant test yet of her leadership since David Ellison installed her to reshape CBS News in a more conservative direction. Last month, 11 Evening News staffers took voluntary buyouts. High-profile correspondents including Anderson Cooper have already departed. The Evening News, now anchored by Tony Dokoupil, is drawing fewer than 4 million viewers, well behind ABC and NBC.

It is worth being direct about what is happening here. David Ellison is now closing in on acquiring CNN, HBO, and Warner Bros. Discovery. The FCC chair is threatening broadcast licenses over war coverage. A former Newsmax executive was just installed at Voice of America. And the most-watched news network built on the legacy of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite is now being dismantled and rebuilt by an anti-woke opinion journalist whose own staff has accused her of pursuing a clearly defined political agenda.

The journalists losing their jobs today are not casualties of a changing industry. They are casualties of a deliberate effort to remake American media in the image of the people running this country. Corporate media is not failing to cover this war honestly by accident. The people who own the cameras have decided what the cameras will show. That is why independent journalism has never been more necessary, and it is exactly why Raw America exists. If you are not yet a paid subscriber, please become one today.

Hegseth Said Grieving Families Told Him to “Finish” the War. A Father Says That’s Not True.

At a Pentagon press conference Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that after meeting with families of the six service members killed in last week’s refueling tanker crash in Iraq, he heard the same message from family after family. “They said, ‘Finish this. Honor their sacrifice. Do not waver. Do not stop until the job is done,’” Hegseth said.

That night, Charles Simmons, the father of Tech Sergeant Tyler Simmons, 28, of Ohio, told a reporter that conversation did not happen.

“When he spoke to me, that was not something we talked about,” Simmons said. He described telling Hegseth: “I understand there’s a lot of peril that goes into making decisions like this, and I just certainly hope the decisions being made are necessary.” When asked directly whether he said anything to Hegseth or Trump about continuing the war, Simmons was clear. “No, I didn’t say anything along those lines.”

He is not alone. Tyler Simmons’ cousin Stephan Douglas told a Columbus news station the war was unnecessary. “This could have been prevented. We didn’t need to be in this war.” Tyler’s grandmother Bernice Smith was equally direct. “Just to create a war because you want to create a war is not right.”

The Pentagon responded by saying Hegseth’s conversations with families were “private,” though Hegseth himself chose to describe them in detail at a public press conference. Hegseth used the grief of Gold Star families to justify continuing a war that those same families are now publicly questioning. That is worth saying plainly.

A Note From Raw America

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Good morning, and we’ll see you Monday.

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STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:

• Oil Prices May Stay in Triple Digits for Years. A new analysis by Goldman Sachs estimates that the price of a barrel of oil may remain above $100 through at least 2027, if not longer. As of this writing, Brent crude — a global benchmark for oil prices — is trading at $108, while West Texas International is trading at $94 a barrel. Goldman Sachs estimated that the supply shock caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and senior Iranian leaders are already promising that the strait “will not return to pre-war conditions.”

• Panel of Trump Appointees Approves Putting His Image on New Gold Coin. The Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday approved a design for a new commemorative 24-karat gold coin featuring an image of President Donald Trump on one side and an eagle on the other — an unprecedented first for living presidents. Key details like dimensions and denomination have not yet been decided. The administration is aiming to release the coin this year to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

• FCC Approves Merger Allowing One Company to Control 70 Percent of All Local News. Both the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice recently approved Nexstar’s acquisition of broadcasting giant Tegna, meaning Nexstar will now control local news channels that reach more than 70 percent of American households. Nexstar is the same company that complied with efforts to silence late night host Jimmy Kimmel, and issued a statement following the merger’s approval thanking Trump.

• Red State Leaders Blindsided by $145 Million ICE Detention Center. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) said recently that he was caught off-guard by the news that the Department of Homeland Security purchased a $145 million warehouse in his state that would be used as an immigrant detention center. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, a Democrat, has vowed to fight to prevent the facility from opening, saying it would strain city infrastructure.

• Trump Keeping National Guard in DC for 3 More Years. Trump said this week that despite crime numbers in Washington D.C. dropping precipitously, he will keep National Guard troops in the nation’s capital for the remainder of his term. Ever since Trump deployed the Guard in D.C., troops have spent the bulk of their time picking up trash in public parks and walking aimlessly around the city. Troops have confided that they feel like their time could be better used elsewhere.