The horsemen of the neocon apocalypse are reportedly whispering in President Trump’s ear, urging him to reignite the kinetic war against the Iranian regime after repeated failures to negotiate a deal.
Locked in a standoff with Iran, President Trump has been “consulting” with hardcore neocon hawks Gen. (Ret.) Jack Keane, Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen and Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, according to an Axios report published Tuesday. (RELATED: Neocons Practically Beg Trump To Nuke Iran, Drool Over The Idea Of Vaporized Civilians)
“All are advising Trump to take some kind of military action to try to break the current deadlock,” the outlet reported.
A plume of smoke rises after a strike on the Iranian capital Tehran, on March 3, 2026. Iran stepped up its attacks on economic targets and US missions across the Middle East on Tuesday as the US president warned it was “too late” for the Islamic Republic to seek talks to escape the war. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with the killing of Iran’s supreme leader and the Islamic Republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images)
Graham, of course, is more of a household name, and there really isn’t a country in the world that he wouldn’t be willing to bomb. Thiessen and Keane, though both Fox News contributors, have a lower public profile than the South Carolina hawk. But if we are to believe the Axios report, the pair may have significant influence on the outcome of this war and what move Trump makes next.
Throughout the war, Thiessen has repeatedly urged Trump to assassinate Iranian negotiators should the U.S. and Iran fail to strike a deal. And, earlier in April, Trump reposted Thiessen’s tweet, arguing, “If there are two factions in Iran, one that wants a deal one that doesn’t, let’s kill the ones who don’t want a deal.”
President Trump reposts Marc Thiessen’s tweet saying:
“If there are two factions in Iran, one that wants a deal and one that doesn’t, let’s kill the ones who don’t want a deal.” pic.twitter.com/09Ugs0vbVJ
— World Source News (@Worldsource24) April 23, 2026
Taking a cue from Thiessen, Keane called for Trump to resume strikes on Iran to break the stalemate and argued that killing negotiators is a “reasonable path,” during a Fox News appearance Tuesday.
Jack Keane on Fox News takes a cue from Marc Thiessen and says killing Iranian negotiators at this point is a “reasonable path,” urges Trump admin to once again bomb their way to regime change
“We got to move away from negotiations and get back to what we started to do from very… pic.twitter.com/ture64GOy4
— John Loftus (@JohnCFLoftus1) April 28, 2026
Thiessen was a cheerleader for the Bush Administration’s invasion of Iraq (he served as a speechwriter for President George W. Bush, as well as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld), and he played an important role in shaping the admin’s defense of torture throughout the War on Terror. In addition to his gig at The Washington Post, Thiessen is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a neocon policy shop.
Keane was a key architect in the Bush administration’s failed attempt at nation-building and the 2007 troop “surge,” when Bush ordered 21,500 additional troops to Iraq. In 2014, he said pulling out of Iraq was an “absolute strategic failure.” He is the chairman of the Institute for the Study of War, a think tank that has received funding from the defense industry.
Axios reported Wednesday that Trump is set to receive new plans for military action in Iran from CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper. If you’re like me, you might be a tad concerned that two swamp creatures who were instrumental in triggering the biggest foreign policy quagmire in American history are advising the president at this moment. If not, well, you’re in luck.