Topline
Right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson made another jibe at President Donald Trump on Wednesday night amid their feud, claiming the president has learned Israel is the “biggest threat” to his administration while arguing on his podcast that the outcome of the Iran war was a “defeat” for the U.S.
Key Facts
In a post on X that included the latest episode of his podcast, Carlson said Trump had “finally figured out that the biggest threat to his administration is Israel,” adding it took “a while.”
Carlson began his podcast by attacking Israel, saying it “cajoled, convinced, threatened” the U.S. government to fight the Iran war “on its behalf” and used it as a pretext to “another war against a neighbor, Lebanon.”
Carlson said Trump and the U.S. military have realized that there is “no military solution” to the Iran situation and America can’t “kill our way out of the war.”
He pointed to Trump’s remarks about how continuing the conflict could have triggered a “worldwide depression” and noted that the U.S. had to get out.
While he criticized Israel’s reaction to the interim peace deal, the right-wing pundit said: “Getting out looks a lot like defeat because strictly speaking, it is defeat.”
Tangent
Last week, Carlson said he was “out” of the Republican party: “If I’m out, then I think a lot of other people are out.” He said there’s “no chance I would support the Republican Party” as he accused the GOP of betraying its voters while prioritizing Israel’s interests. “How could I or any American voter support a political party that’s not loyal to the United States. That puts the interests of a foreign country above those of its own citizens. It’s not possible to vote for people like that, and I’m not going to.”
Key Background
Carlson has been among a group of prominent MAGA figures who have publicly split from Trump on the war in Iran, among other issues. In April, Carlson said he would be “tormented” by his support for Trump for a “long time.” At the time, the former Fox host said, “And I want to say I’m sorry for misleading people. It was not intentional, that’s all I’ll say.” Last month, he called out Trump for touting his supposed “99%” approval rating in Israel and saying, “Maybe after I do this, I’ll go to Israel and run for prime minister.” The former Fox News host mocked the president for “bragging about his popularity” in a foreign country, “the same country that got us into the war,” which tanked his popularity at home. Carlson added Trump’s approval rating in the U.S. had nosedived to 35%.
further reading
Tucker Carlson Mocks Trump’s Approval Rating As Feud Escalates (Forbes)