President Donald Trump has lashed out at former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, suggesting the conservative pundit is irrelevant now that he’s lost his television show.
Days after Carlson accused the president of being “complicit” in the Israel-Iran conflict and suggested he had betrayed his MAGA base, Trump fired back with a stinging rebuke.
“I don’t know what Tucker Carlson is saying. Let him go get a television network and say it so that people listen,” Trump said when asked about the comments during G7 summit in Canada.
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A few hours later, he posted on Truth Social: “Somebody explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!”
Trump’s response was major slap down for Carlson, who was famously fired from Fox News in August 2023, days after the Rupert Murdoch-owned cable news network settled a historic defamation lawsuit for spreading election lies.
The sacking also came amid accusations that Carlson had alienated large sections of the network and created a toxic working environment for some female colleagues.
At the time, Carlson was Fox News’s highest rating presenter, drawing about 3.3 million daily viewers to his show, Tucker Carlson Tonight, which gave him a platform to amplify his right-wing conspiracy theories.
Since then, the 56-year-old has launched a new show on Elon Musk’s social media platform, “Tucker on X” and a weekly podcast called “The Tucker Carlson Show” but has never reclaimed his former status.
As tensions escalate in the Middle East between Israel and Iran, America’s role in the conflict has sparked a civil war within MAGA ranks.
On one side are pro-Israel war hawks such as Laura Loomer and Mark Levin; on the other are “America First” die-hards such as Charlie Kirk and Jack Posobiec.
“Trump smartly ran against starting new wars, this is what the swing states voted for - the midterms are not far and Congress’ majority is already razor-thin. America First!” Posobiec warned last week.
Carlson also entered the fray last week, calling Trump complicit and suggesting that the president had betrayed Americans who voted for him, in part because he promised to end U.S. involvement in foreign wars.
“If Israel wants to wage this war, it has every right to do so. It is a sovereign country, and it can do as it pleases. But not with America’s backing,” he said.
He then ranted for about 45 minutes on Steve Bannon’s podcast on on Monday, railing against everyone from Rupert Murdoch and former Fox News colleagues, to critics claiming he was anti-semitic for opposing U.S. support for Israel’s attacks against Iran.
“I’m a free man. You’re not telling me who I have to hate. I’ll decide who I like and don’t like,” he said.
The war of words with the president came as Israel expanded its attacks on Iran on Monday, striking the headquarters of its state television broadcaster while anchors were live on air.
On Sunday, Trump had said the U.S. was not involved in Israel’s military strikes against Iran, but added: “it’s possible we could get involved.”
Speaking at the G7 in Canada, he said he was in constant contact with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and believed a nuclear deal with Iran will be signed soon.
“Iran would be foolish not to sign a deal,” he told reporters.
Soon after, he posted warned on social media: “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”
“Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign,” he said. “What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again!”
