Fox News host Brian Kilmeade has called for former President Donald Trump to remove his son-in-law from the stalled negotiations concerning the conflict in Iran.
Kilmeade, speaking on the Friday installment of The Five, delivered his pointed criticism, risking potential backlash from Trump, who is known for being a dedicated viewer of the conservative news outlet.
Both Jared Kushner and the U.S. Special Envoy for Peace, Steve Witkoff, were criticized for being unfitting for the diplomatic task at hand.
“They’re business guys,” remarked Kilmeade, expressing his disapproval of the 14-point proposal Kushner and Witkoff developed over several months, suggesting it seemed as though it was drafted by Iran itself.
“Their efforts haven’t been fruitful in Ukraine or Gaza,” Kilmeade added, highlighting their perceived ineffectiveness in other global regions.
‘They have not been effective in this.’
He floated Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a much better option that ‘even Democrats’ view ‘as a genius’ when it comes to approaches to foreign policy.
‘We have a State Department for a reason,’ Kilmeade complained. ‘He should take the lead on this.
Fox & Friends anchor Brian Kilmeade said Donald Trump should suspend his son-in-law from ongoing peace talks with Iran on Friday’s edition of The Five
Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff – Trump’s former golfing buddy – near Lucerne, Switzerland, on June 21, 2026, during a meeting between the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar to negotiate the end to the war
‘Because you can’t do this like a business deal.
‘You have to understand the history of the region and how distrustful the Iranians have been,’ Kilmeade said.
He said the regime would only budge under a harsher approach. He criticized Kushner and Witkoff – Trump’s longtime golfing buddy – for supporting a plan that basically gave Iran the ability to co-run the Strait of Hormuz, along with Oman.
‘You got to bring them down to a point where they are not even attempting to control the strait. The strait is their new nuclear weapon,’ the anchor warned.
‘They think it’s actually more valuable than a nuclear weapon.
‘They think they can control it and they think they can toll it.
‘And if you look at the point 14 of the Memorandum of Understanding, it actually says, “We will work with Oman and we will administer the strait.’
Kilmeade, 62, called it ‘unbelievable’ that the pair would ‘sign off’ on such a deal.
Trump confirmed the deal to end the war that the two reached had stalled after strikes on vessels sailing through the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week. Kilmeade floated Secretary State as a better option for diplomatic talks
‘The only thing stupider than all that, is Iran didn’t realize they had the outline of a framework of a deal of a lifetime,’ he added, after strikes between the US and Iran resumed earlier this week.
‘That is, “you leave the strait alone, you get your funds eventually unfrozen, you begin to sell oil, then you survive to live another day.’
‘Instead, you are back to a destroyed economy, a capital that doesn’t have water, and, strategically, we are blowing up their rail lines, we’re taking down their missile defense, we’re taking down their drone operations,’ Kilmeade continued.
He did warn that Iran’s renewed strikes were purposeful, though.
‘Ultimately, they have to retake the strait themselves,’ he said.
‘I know there’s multiple plans and I hope that president picks the right one,’ a visibly bothered Kilmeade concluded.
Kushner, 45, is married to the president’s eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump. He served as a senior advisor to Trump during the conservative’s first term. Following Trump’s 2020 election loss, he founded a private equity firm with deep ties to the Saudi government.
He returned to the White House in an informal advisory role last year, before being minted as a Special Envoy in February.
Kushner served as a senior advisor to Trump during the conservative’s first term. Following Trump’s 2020 election loss, he founded a private equity terms with deep ties to the Saudi government. He was spotted at the Sun Valley Conference in Idaho on Thursday
Ivanka Trump, 44, attended as well, with the war in Iran now well into its fifth month
He attended the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Idaho with Ivanka on Wednesday and Thursday.
Trump declared the ceasefire officially over on Friday, after strikes from Tehran on vessels attempting to navigate the Strait of Hormuz.
‘The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks.’ We have agreed to do so,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social as well.
The war in Iran is now well into its fifth month.