Breaking Down the Escalating Feud Between Trump and Tucker Carlson Amid Divide Over Israel-Iran Conflict

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"Somebody please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon," Trump said.

As the active conflict between Israel and Iran enters its sixth day, and with the latter issuing new grave warnings to the United States, divides are starting to show across the political spectrum as to what U.S. President Donald Trump should do next. Trump’s openness to a possible U.S. involvement has led to schisms within the Republican community and beyond, and has notably impacted his allyship with a certain former Fox News host.

Tucker Carlson—who was fired from Fox News in 2023 and has since gone on to host his own podcast, The Tucker Carlson Show—has shared a friendly relationship with Trump over the years. Trump sat down with Carlson for an exclusive interview during the 2024 election, and they even hit the campaign trail together.

But on June 13, Carlson made it clear that he opposed any potential U.S. military intervention in the Israel-Iran conflict, arguing that the “real divide” is between “those who casually encourage violence, and those who seek to prevent it—between warmongers and peacemakers.”

“Who are the warmongers? They would include anyone who’s calling Donald Trump today to demand air strikes and other direct U.S. military involvement in a war with Iran,” Carlson said via social media.

The podcast personality listed several Republicans and high-profile businesspeople and media persons, including Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Rupert Murdoch, Ike Perlmutter, and Miriam Adelson. "At some point they will all have to answer for this, but you should know their names now," Carlson signed off.

Trump was dismissive of Carlson’s viewpoint when reporters asked him to comment during the 2025 G7 Summit.

“I don't know what Tucker Carlson is saying. Let him go get a television network and say it so that people listen,” the President said.

Later that same day, Trump took to Truth Social to take another jab at Carlson.

“Somebody please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that IRAN CANNOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON," he urged.

Other Republican commentators and lawmakers—those who have typically supported Trump’s “America First” policies—have come to Carlson’s defense amid Trump’s escalation, including far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia.

Greene said that Carlson is one of her "favorite people” and he “unapologetically believes the same things" she does.

“[F]oreign wars/intervention/regime change put America last, kill innocent people, are making us broke, and will ultimately lead to our destruction,” Greene said. "That’s not kooky. That’s what millions of Americans voted for. It’s what we believe is America First."

Carson doubled down on his stance on fellow right-wing commentator Steve Bannon’s podcast, The War Room, on Monday, in which he warned that involvement in the Middle East could “weaken” the U.S. “I think we’re going to see the end of the American empire,” he said.

Bannon, who served as the White House's chief strategist during the first few months of Trump’s first term, has also called for the U.S. to stay out of conflict in the Middle East.

Carlson, meanwhile, has broken away from other notable Republicans over the Israel-Iran argument.

Notably, he and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz rowed over the Senator’s knowledge of Iran during an interview on his podcast, released in full on Wednesday.

“How could you not know that?” Carlson asked in disbelief, after Cruz was unable to answer when asked to list the population of Iran (something Carlson identified as around 92 million).

After Cruz said that he does not “sit around and memorize population tables,” Carlson replied: “Well, it's kind of relevant, because you're calling for the overthrow of the government.”

The two continued to argue over about their respective knowledge of the Middle Eastern country, the alleged Iranian Trump assassination plot, and the level of potential U.S. involvement in the current conflict and how that might look.

“We're carrying out military strikes today,” Cruz said. Carlson then pointed out that Cruz and other U.S. officials had stated that the strikes were being carried out by Israel, making Cruz’s "we" a curious choice of wording. Cruz clarified: “With our help. I said ‘we.’ Israel is leading, but we're supporting them.”

“You just said ‘we' were,” Carlson said. “This is high stakes. You’re a Senator. If you’re saying the United States government is at war with Iran right now, people are listening.”

Cruz took to social media after the interview with Carlson, arguing that Carlson’s question was a “silly game” and that the former Fox News host had “attacked” Trump and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) during their sit-down.

Trump has echoed Cruz’s “we” in his own Truth Social posts.

“We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran. Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn’t compare to American made, conceived, and manufactured ‘stuff,'" he said on Tuesday. “Nobody does it better than the good ol’ USA.”

https://time.com/7295566/trump-tucker-carlson-feud-israel-iran-conflict/