New York (CNN Business) After three hours of "Fox & Friends" segments about Iran's missile strikes at Iraqi bases housing US troops, co-host Ainsley Earhardt summed up the show's main message.

"All the experts are saying they don't think we need to respond now because it looks like they" -- the Iranians -- "are shaking in their boots, they're terrifed of us," she said.

Indeed, many of the military veterans and other guests on President Trump's favorite morning TV show said the overnight strikes were merely a face-saving move on Iran's part, not a severe escalation in hostilities. America "has superior strength," one guest said. Trump has "restored US effective deterrence in the region," another said.

Analysts speaking with other news outlets have largely come to the same conclusion -- but to hear it on "Fox & Friends" is important because the show is so influential in the Trump White House. It is essentially the president's televised morning briefing, and the words of its anchors could well influence what Trump does next.

The "Friends" message was clear: Rally around the flag. Unite behind the president. Put politics aside, unless your political target is a Democrat.

Read More