White Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stepped out trying to lock in a clean win for President Donald Trump — selling a version of events that made it seem like the moment was settled and the support was there, even as the reality told a different story. But instead of landing, it set something else off.
The pushback didn’t come from where she expected. It came from the very crowd she was counting on. And instead of easing off, Leavitt doubled down, pushing the message even harder and turning a shaky moment into one that started unraveling in real time.
Leavitt, attempted to frame the president’s military campaign as a clear success, leaning on a series of polls to argue that Americans were firmly behind it.
In a post Thursday, March 19, Leavitt claimed that an “overwhelming” majority of Americans supported Trump’s military action against Tehran, pointing to multiple polls included in a White House press release to back it up.
“Americans Agree that Operation Epic Fury Is an Overwhelming Success,” Leavitt wrote.
But the claim didn’t hold up for long. X slapped a community note on her post warning that the six polls she linked to in a White House press release only showed an “overwhelming” number of Trump’s MAGA base supported his strike on Iran not a majority of Americans.
“The White House’s polls mentioned in the link only refers to MAGA Republicans or Republicans being in favor of the war, not the broader American public. This excludes Democrats and Independents being polled which skews the data and misrepresents America’s views as a whole,” X’s community note read.
And despite Leavitt’s push to sell it as broad support, the correction exposed something else — even MAGA wasn’t fully buying it.
Several self-identified supporters made clear that the message wasn’t landing, rejecting both the framing of the war and the attempt to speak on their behalf.
Navy veteran and self-described “America First” supporter known as The Patriot Voice wrote, “NO THE HELL WE DO NOT!!! STOP GASLIGHTING US!”
“Absolute bull crap. More than half of us are completely against this,” another user added.
“There is no more MAGA,” wrote X user Cian O’Brien. “Trump made sure that it was destroyed when he told us he did not need us as his supporters anymore… We haven’t forgotten. Trump has betrayed us. This administration betrays us. You betray us.”
Even some figures aligned with Trump’s broader media orbit appeared to take note of how the moment was playing out.
“Comment section going well. Community note too,” wrote Owen Shroyer, a former War Room host on InfoWars.
Others piled on. Journalist Mehdi Hasan added, “She is linking to an article showing only MAGA Republicans support the war, and then claiming ‘Americans agree’ with it. Her own link shows her to be a liar. She’s a proud and open liar. Reporters should treat her as such.”
X user No Kings spelled it out in four words, “It’s an Epic FAILURE.”
The backlash underscored a growing disconnect between the administration’s messaging and public sentiment, but Leavitt doubled down.
Speaking with reporters the following day, she brushed aside the mounting criticism, insisting the reaction online didn’t reflect reality.
“I would remind people X is not real life. Trump lives in the real world. There is nothing more America First than taking out terrorists who have maimed and killed our servicemen and women,” she said.
She reinforced that stance in a separate post on X, rejecting the idea that Trump’s base is splintering even as criticism from within it continued to build.
“As I’ve said repeatedly, Americans trust President Trump as their Commander-in-Chief and support his efforts to eliminate terrorist threats and keep us safe. There is no ‘MAGA fracturing,’ no matter how many times the media tries to claim otherwise.”
Trump, without congressional approval or any explanation to Americans beforehand, launched an ongoing military strike against Iran on Feb. 28 which has left at least 13 Americans dead, dozens more injured, and killed more than 2,000 Iranians, according to the latest news reports on war casualties.
In the weeks since, the administration has offered shifting explanations for the operation, while struggling to maintain a consistent narrative around its goals and consequences.
Recent polling reflects that divide.
A Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted between March 17 and March 19 found that while 77 percent of Republicans support the war, just 28 percent of independents and 6 percent of Democrats agree.
Overall, 59 percent of Americans oppose the conflict, compared to 37 percent who support it — a gap that makes Leavitt’s claim of “overwhelming” backing even harder to sustain.
