Republican strategist Scott Jennings challenged Vice President JD Vance on Monday to draw a clear line between Republican officeholders and media figures he said profit from outrage and conspiracies.

Jennings made the remarks during a panel discussion on “The Arena with Kasie Hunt,” after political commentator Kate Bedingfield raised questions about whether unelected commentators should be allowed to define the MAGA movement’s message going forward. Bedingfield pointed to prominent conservative personalities such as Megyn Kelly and Daily Caller News Foundation co-founder Tucker Carlson.

“There is a divergence of interests in terms of conflict sells and whether the Megyn Kellys and Tucker Carlsons of the world, whether, again, MAGA and the people who are running for office asking to represent the American people, are willing to tolerate having these people who are fundamentally out to make money, often to shock, often to create conflict. Are they going to be allowed to speak for the MAGA movement?” Bedingfield asked. “Again, I think that the elected officials who want to represent Americans across the country need to say with a clear voice, ‘We don’t tolerate this. This is not the kind of language that we’re going to tolerate in our party.’”

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“I don’t disagree with you,” Jennings said. “I think ultimately it will be up to the nominee of the party, most likely JD Vance, to basically say, who’s in my group and who’s out, and to separate himself from people who are trafficking in hate and conspiracy theories.” (RELATED: Erika Kirk Makes 2028 Presidential Endorsement During AmFest Speech)

Jennings pointed to recent straw poll results showing overwhelming support for Israel and broad agreement that radical Islam poses the top national security threat, saying the supposed civil war on the right exists mostly among commentators, not voters.

“I would just draw you back to the straw poll results from, I mean, there was thousands upon thousands of people [who] clearly stood with Israel, clearly believed radical Islam is the top issue facing the United States. So, the debate happening on the stage was one thing,” Jennings added. “There really wasn’t that much of a debate in the crowd. I think some of the civil war talk is a bit of a mirage. When you actually look at the results of the polling among the people in the stands.”

The Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro and Carlson traded blows during AmericaFest on Thursday as the two took aim at each other. Shapiro accused Carlson of irresponsibly elevating extremist figures, while Carlson later brushed off the criticism by mocking Shapiro’s comments and implying he was unconcerned by the attack.

During his speech, Carlson also rejected claims of a growing civil war on the right, dismissing media narratives that portray President Donald Trump’s coalition as splintered by internal disputes. He said the debate reflects a misunderstanding of the political dynamics surrounding Trump’s movement rather than a genuine ideological fracture.

“Whatever that is, the people who voted for Trump, the Trump coalition, and the supposed civil war going on within that group,” Carlson said. “I don’t think it’s real. I think it’s fake. I think it’s totally fake. I’ve had cause to think a lot about this, because I’ve been unwittingly involved in the proxy war.”

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