By Michael Katz | March 20, 2026
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts characterized recent tensions within President Donald Trump’s MAGA base over the conflict with Iran as “good” during an interview with The Hill on Thursday.
Roberts, who faced criticism from Trump and his supporters in October for defending Tucker Carlson’s interview with avowed white supremacist Nick Fuentes, stated that his organization supports U.S. military operations against Iran’s political leadership and military infrastructure.
Speaking at the Heritage Foundation’s inaugural Miami Security Forum, he described dissent such as Joe Kent’s resignation as director of the National Counterterrorism Center over objections to the conflict as healthy.
“ heated tensions in the movement or disagreements about national security, actually, it’s good that those exist,” Roberts told The Hill, criticizing progressive politics for enforcing what he called “intellectual totalitarianism.”
Kent has argued that Iran poses no imminent threat to U.S. security and blamed Israel and its “American lobby” for pressuring Trump into the conflict. One of his first interviews following his resignation was with Carlson.
The Miami Security Forum, which concluded Friday, featured political figures from across the Western Hemisphere in a bid to bolster partnerships throughout the Americas but did not include discussions on the Iran conflict.
Roberts also noted that he accepts the president’s assertion that the military operation would be “of limited duration.”
Trump recently stated that Vice President JD Vance is “less enthusiastic” about launching military strikes alongside Israel against Iran and described him as “philosophically a little bit different than me.”
Vance later clarified that despite his public opposition, he agrees with Trump that Iran should never possess nuclear weapons and remains committed to making the operation successful.
Roberts affirmed his support for Vance’s position, stating that U.S. officials have a duty to execute the president’s vision.
“When the president of the United States, whoever he or she is, says, ‘This is what we’re doing,’ especially if it’s putting our servicemen and women in harm’s way, you salute and move on,” Roberts said.
He added that while Heritage is not “bound by the same loyalty” as administration officials, it supports how the Trump administration has executed the operation.
“Honest to goodness, I believe he initiated it and has executed it perfectly, including not involving untrustworthy European, quote, unquote allies in the conversation,” Roberts concluded.
