Karoline Leavitt Slapped With Community Note, Roasted Online for Claiming New Poll Shows ‘Americans Agree’ Iran Op Is ‘Overwhelming Success’

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters at the White House, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was slapped with a community note on X over a post claiming Americans overwhelmingly support Operation Epic Fury against Iran.

“Americans Agree that Operation Epic Fury Is an Overwhelming Success,” Leavitt wrote in a Thursday post.

The link she provided, however, mostly showed MAGA-aligned Republicans backing President Donald Trump’s strikes. The White House page lists six polls that show 80-90% support for the war, but that is only among MAGA followers or Republicans.

Three more links were provided that showed much more tepid support. The Washington Post found a “plurality of Americans back U.S. action against Iran — with approval rising as victories mount.” The poll does not support is more than when the strikes started, but the survey also makes clear that people would still prefer for it to end.

The other two polls come from Rasmussen and Fox News, the former showing 61% say Operation Epic Fury has been successful, and the latter showing six in 10 Americans view Iran as a threat to the United States.

Leavitt’s post left much to be desired, according to X and her critics.

“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,” a community note from X slapped on Leavitt’s post reads.

Critics jumped on the community note and Leavitt’s claim of big support from the American people.

“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,” Mehdi Hasan wrote on X.

In a Friday post, Leavitt appeared to double down on her claim of overall strong support for Trump, despite the numbers she was sharing showing mainly support from MAGA crowds. She shared a Politico poll showing 81% support for the Iran war among MAGA Republicans, 61% among non-MAGA Republicans, and 43% support overall.

“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,” Leavitt wrote. “There is no ‘MAGA fracturing,’ no matter how many times the media tries to claim otherwise.”

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!