Tucker Carlson called Operation Epic Fury "absolutely disgusting and evil."
Now CNN's own data analyst just torched that narrative with a single poll result.
And the number is so perfect it sounds made up – until you hear CNN's own guy explain why it isn't.
The Number CNN Didn't Want to Say Out Loud
Harry Enten appeared on CNN News Central Wednesday morning to answer a question the network has been obsessing over for three weeks: Is MAGA falling apart over the Iran war?
He pulled up a fresh NBC News survey and let the number do the talking.
One hundred percent of self-identified MAGA Republicans approve of Donald Trump.
Zero disapprove.
"You don't have to be a mathematical genius to know you can't go higher than 100 percent," Enten said.
He reached for the only comparison that fits.
"He is the 1972 Miami Dolphins."
The only NFL team to ever finish a season undefeated – and win the Super Bowl.
The anchor pushed back immediately, noting the "couple of prominent people" online raging about Iran.
https://twitter.com/OpenSourceZone/status/2034300692005884395?s=20
Enten's response: "The theme of this segment is Tucker Carlson be darned."
MAGA Is Growing While CNN Covers a Split That Doesn't Exist
Critics tried to wave the number away by arguing that dissidents simply stopped calling themselves MAGA – that the movement shrank around Trump, making the 100 percent a statistical illusion.
Enten killed that theory too.
Thirty percent of Americans now identify as MAGA supporters – up from 28 percent when Trump won his second term in November 2024.
"That 100 percent that Donald Trump has among MAGA GOP, that is not an artifact of MAGA shrinking," Enten said. "It's just an indication of how strong Donald Trump's grip is on that MAGA base."
The Iran numbers are just as decisive.
Ninety percent of MAGA Republicans approve of Operation Epic Fury specifically.
Five percent disapprove.
https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/2034302387523883128?s=20
The White House has known this all along – pointing to polls from NBC, the Washington Post, YouGov, and CNN itself, all showing the same picture.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle said it plainly: the MAGA base is "not wavering one bit."
What Steve Bannon Actually Revealed About Himself
Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, and Marjorie Taylor Greene are prominent.
They have large audiences.
They have been loudly furious about Operation Epic Fury.
But NBC claims that they represent exactly zero percent of the MAGA base.
Trump has believed this since Day One.
When reporter Rachael Bade asked about Carlson and Kelly, his answer was immediate: "I think that MAGA is Trump – MAGA's not the other two."
He was right.
These commentators built their audiences by aligning with a movement.
Trump told ABC's Jonathan Karl exactly where Carlson stands: "Tucker has lost his way. I knew that a long time ago, and he's not MAGA. MAGA is saving our country. MAGA is making our country great again. MAGA is America First, and Tucker is none of those things."
The NBC poll just proved it – and CNN's own data analyst had to say it live on air.
Sources:
- Harry Enten, CNN News Central, March 18, 2026.
- Victor Nava, "CNN data guru reveals Trump's base is expanding with 100% approval from MAGA Republicans," New York Post, March 18, 2026.
- Davis Ingle (White House), quoted in "Donald Trump's Grip on MAGA Hits Highest Possible Level," Newsweek, March 19, 2026.
- Valerie Richardson, "MAGA is Trump: President bashes blowback over Iranian strikes from Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson," Washington Times, March 3, 2026.
- Trump quoted on Tucker Carlson, ABC News interview with Jonathan Karl, March 2026.
