since donald trump was elected president of the united states in 2017, fox news host tucker carlson has been a prominent presence and one of most active supporters of his campaign.
however, their paths later diverged, and carlson became one of trump’s most vocal critics, particularly over his perceived subservience to benjamin netanyahu, the war with iran, and the unprecedented amount of aid provided to israel.
carlson rejected his country’s subservience to israel, a position that gained overwhelming support from various segments of american society. he became a central figure in media debates across the political spectrum and one of the most prominent conservative voices most followed in american media.
carlson began his popular program on fox news immediately after the 2017 election. despite being fired from fox in 2013, he remained a key figure in trump’s world.
later, carlson expressed regret over his support for trump and, through his program, emerged as a prominent and influential critic. he publicly accused israel of making trump a “slave” to israel due to what he viewed as his strong focus on israeli interests.
over time, carlson has been labeled as anti-semitic and an opponent of israel, particularly following his controversial interview with white nationalist influencer nick fuentes, who is openly anti-semitic.
in a lengthy television interview, summarized below, carlson said he had been speaking with trump for ten years about the huge pressure he, like other american presidents, faced to change the regime in iran. he said trump understood how difficult the situation was and believed it was not in the best interest of his country.
he said the goal of the war was always regime change, not the nuclear program, as charlie kirk had also previously told him.
carlson said, “i met with the president alone three times and spoke with him on the phone several times. he would always ask me, ‘do you want iran to have a nuclear weapon?’ i would reply that wasn’t the question; it was what we should do about it. iran is an economic powerhouse, controlling the largest coastline along the persian gulf, the source of one-fifth of the world’s energy. this is common knowledge now, and it was known to the president at the time as well. i think he fully understood the consequences. i found that trump had no choice and that he acquiesced, under pressure from netanyahu and influential donors like murdoch and miriam adelson.
president trump thought a war with iran would be like the venezuela operation, underestimating the iranians and what they might do. i haven’t seen any signs of dementia or mental decline in him; on the contrary, he possesses an exceptional ability to understand people and the dynamics of power. he’s smart on important political issues. i believe he did all of this ‘against his will.’
joe kent, the head of the national counterterrorism center and a senior intelligence official, expressed the same opinion about trump: that he failed to restrain netanyahu and stop his attacks in lebanon, even though israel could collapse without the united states. regardless of what is said, what allowed a foreign leader to influence trump? i don’t know the answer, but in my opinion, this is the dumbest thing any american president has ever done.
i say this frankly, i am against the idea that hezbollah and hamas are the focus of our internal debate. they aren’t the two main problems we face. credit card debt, for example, is a much bigger problem than hezbollah.
i was saddened by trump’s use of vulgar language and his threats to kill civilians in iran. that’s morally reprehensible. how can he boast about it?
one thing that has worried me for many years is that many of trump’s close associates have been severely harmed, incarcerated, unemployed, publicly shamed, and even diagnosed with cancer. i believe in a comprehensive assessment of things.
israel has power in congress, not because we have a large jewish population, but because tens of millions of evangelical christians support israel unequivocally, believing it to be their religious duty. so, the fate of our economy and the lives of american soldiers hang on this ‘biblical vision.’
a war with iran is unpopular, and the idea of sending americans to risk their lives to change any regime is unpopular.”