Fox News host Johnny “Joey” Jones issued a stern warning to President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, saying that American patience for another long war is running out fast. Jones, a former Marine who lost both his legs in Afghanistan in 2010, made these remarks during an appearance on The Big Weekend Show.
According to The Daily Beast, He said he feels “very torn” by reports that the Trump administration is considering sending thousands of additional ground troops into the Middle East.
Jones served in the Marine Corps for eight years and worked alongside Hegseth for years before Hegseth joined Trump’s Cabinet in 2025. “I sat beside Pete Hegseth for years on the couch on Fox & Friends,” Jones, 39, said. “I had a lot of conversations with him before he was confirmed as Secretary of War. I know what’s in his heart and in his experience.” He also acknowledged Trump’s past promises of “No new wars” and “No forever wars.”
Public support for the Iran war is already weaker than it was for Iraq, and the numbers keep getting worse
Jones made a direct appeal to Trump, Hegseth, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine. “President Trump, Pete Hegseth, General Caine, and the rest of the generals, if you send our men and women into that country to kill our bad guys, to spill their blood because they deserve it, I don’t have to agree with you on it, just please do this: Don’t nation-build. Don’t win hearts and minds. Don’t spread democracy,” he said.
“Spill the blood of the evil that deserve to die without our hands tied and without a PR campaign and get the hell out of there. That’s all we have tolerance for. That’s all that will work.” Jones also compared the current situation to past conflicts, saying, “We won every battle in Iraq and Afghanistan, but we lost the war because our politicians don’t have a spine. Don’t be those people.”
His concerns come as public support for Trump’s war on Iran is already lower than early support for the Iraq War. Just one month into the conflict, 61 percent of Americans disapprove of how the president has handled the situation.
Polling also shows that 59 percent of Americans believe the U.S. made the wrong decision in using military force against Iran, and 45 percent feel the conflict is not going well at all. Trump’s net approval rating has also dropped to a new low of -18 as of March 21. This comes at a time when Trump has also been drawing attention for his unusual late-night public statements, adding to concerns about his messaging during a sensitive period.
Jones is not the only conservative voice urging caution. Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly have also expressed concerns about U.S. involvement in Iran. Kelly has been vocal in blaming those who “talked [President Trump] into” attacking Iran, specifically naming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham.
“As this thing goes south, we need to know exactly who talked him into it,” Kelly said. “What representations were made to convince the president that this was a good idea. Who? Who specifically?”
She also criticized fellow conservative commentators Mark Levin and Mark Thiessen, saying, “I like those guys. But they appear to have been very wrong that this was a good idea.” Meanwhile, critics have also pointed out that Trump’s policy decisions driven by financial interests rather than public good have become a recurring pattern worth watching.
Published: Mar 30, 2026 01:06 pm