Tucker Carlson, once considered a key voice in the Trump-aligned conservative movement, has sharply criticized former President Donald Trump and a handful of top conservative media figures for supporting Israel\u2019s recent military strikes on Iran. Carlson\u2019s latest comments suggest a major divide within the right, particularly between those urging U.S. support for Israel\u2019s offensive and those who see that as a dangerous step toward another American war in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a strongly worded newsletter titled \u201cThis Could Be the Final Newsletter Before All-Out War,\u201d<\/em> Carlson accused Trump of being \u201ccomplicit\u201d in Israel\u2019s actions. He argued that even if U.S. forces were not directly involved in the early stages of the assault, the years of American funding and arms shipments to Israel meant the United States was deeply involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWashington knew these attacks would happen,\u201d Carlson wrote. \u201cThey aided Israel in carrying them out. Politicians purporting to be America First can\u2019t now credibly turn around and say they had nothing to do with it. Our country is in deep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carlson did not stop at Trump. In public statements and on social media, he singled out several high-profile conservative voices and donors, calling them \u201cwarmongers\u201d and accusing them of encouraging Trump to launch direct U.S. military strikes on Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWho are the warmongers?\u201d Carlson asked his readers. \u201cThey would include anyone who\u2019s calling Donald Trump today to demand air strikes and other direct U.S. military involvement in a war with Iran. On that list: Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Rupert Murdoch, Ike Perlmutter, and Miriam Adelson.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He added, \u201cAt some point they will all have to answer for this, but you should know their names now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carlson specifically criticized Mark Levin, a Fox News host and member of Trump\u2019s Homeland Security Advisory Council, for allegedly visiting the White House to lobby for war. \u201cMark Levin was at the White House today, lobbying for war with Iran,\u201d Carlson wrote on X. \u201cTo be clear, Levin has no plans to fight in this or any other war. He\u2019s demanding that American troops do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Levin wasted no time firing back. On X, he blasted Carlson\u2019s accusations. \u201cYes, I know \u2026 Carlson has become a loathsome a** who is increasingly unhinged and pathetic,\u201d Levin wrote. \u201cYou\u2019re a reckless and deceitful propagandist, and that\u2019s the best I can say. You promote antisemitism and conspiracy nuts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Levin has also publicly criticized Trump\u2019s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, accusing him of trying to strike a deal with \u201ca warmonger Iranian terrorist regime.\u201d Witkoff was leading talks aimed at reaching a nuclear agreement with Iran before Israel launched its strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Levin, speaking on Fox News, praised Israel\u2019s military operation and said, \u201cThe Iranians are about to get their asses kicked and it\u2019s been coming since Jimmy Carter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sean Hannity also appeared to celebrate the strikes, reading off a list of Iran\u2019s past provocations and claiming that Israel was right to act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carlson took a much different tone. He warned that any war with Iran would be disastrous for the United States. \u201cThe first week of a war with Iran could easily kill thousands of Americans,\u201d he wrote. \u201cIt could also collapse our economy, as surging oil prices trigger unmanageable inflation. Consider the effects of $30 gasoline.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He added, \u201cAn attack on Iran could very easily become a world war. We\u2019d lose.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carlson also challenged the long-standing claim that Iran is close to acquiring nuclear weapons. \u201cIt\u2019s a lie,\u201d he said. \u201cIn fact, there is zero credible intelligence that suggests Iran is anywhere near building a bomb, or has plans to. None. Anyone who claims otherwise is ignorant or dishonest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He argued that this same talking point has been repeated since the 1990s, and said that if Iran were actually weeks away from building a bomb, the U.S. government would already be at war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite Carlson\u2019s criticism, Trump has continued to speak in support of Israel while urging Iran to return to nuclear talks. On Truth Social, Trump wrote, \u201cIran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. God Bless You All!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Carlson said Trump\u2019s recent support for Israeli military efforts contradicts his earlier campaign promises. \u201cEarlier this week, unnamed Washington sources expressed concern over Israel\u2019s ability to fend off Iran\u2019s retaliation, which would inevitably lead to Benjamin Netanyahu ordering the American military to step in,\u201d Carlson wrote. \u201cNow, the world will learn what that looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He added that Trump\u2019s past pledge to avoid foreign wars is now being tested. \u201cSix months into his second term, he has not only failed to do that, but has seemingly escalated the situation in the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carlson\u2019s remarks have ignited controversy not only among media figures but also within diplomatic circles. Former Governor Mike Huckabee, now serving as U.S. Ambassador to Israel, dismissed Carlson\u2019s stance and said that Israel\u2019s security is an American interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSeven hundred thousand Americans live in Israel,\u201d Huckabee wrote. \u201cThat is a full congressional district, but Tucker doesn\u2019t care.\u201d He added, \u201cI learned long ago that the most dangerous man in the room is the guy who doesn\u2019t know what he doesn\u2019t know. He will get you killed. That\u2019s Tucker.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, others say Carlson is undermining U.S. allies during a dangerous moment. Israeli strikes have reportedly killed several senior Iranian officials, and in response, Iran has launched ballistic missiles toward Tel Aviv. U.S. officials confirmed that American forces were helping intercept missiles aimed at Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carlson\u2019s criticism signals a growing divide within the Republican Party over foreign policy. On one side are traditional hawks like Levin and Hannity who support aggressive measures to defend Israel. On the other are nationalist and populist voices like Carlson, Charlie Kirk, and Jack Posobiec who believe that foreign wars violate the \u201cAmerica First\u201d promise that helped Trump win in 2016 and 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carlson summed up the split plainly: \u201cThe real divide isn\u2019t between people who support Israel and people who support Iran or the Palestinians. The real divide is between those who casually encourage violence, and those who seek to prevent it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As bombs continue to fall in the Middle East, and tensions between conservatives rise at home, the Republican movement appears more fractured than it has been in years. Whether Trump will double down on military support or heed the warnings from Carlson and others remains to be seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NP Editor:<\/strong> I can usually empathize with people who take opposing views, but in this case I can’t agree at all. It is very simple. If Iran, under its current leadership gets a nuclear weapon, they will immediately use it, first on Israel, second on the U.S. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But make no mistake, Trump has prioritized the biggest problems, and Iran is one of the biggest, he may be fighting this through Israel but we are complicit, active and determined.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Rift on the Right: Carlson Turns on Trump Tucker Carlson, once considered a key voice in the Trump-aligned conservative movement, has sharply criticized former President Donald Trump and a handful of top conservative media figures for supporting Israel\u2019s recent military strikes on Iran. Carlson\u2019s latest comments suggest a major divide within the right, particularly between those urging U.S. support for Israel\u2019s offensive and those who see that as a dangerous step toward another American war in the Middle East. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,17,18,21,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east","category-opinion","category-politics","category-threat-to-america","category-trump"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/tuckeraserzdg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6193"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6194,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6193\/revisions\/6194"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Targeting Conservative Media Giants and Donors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Mark Levin Responds: \u201cYou\u2019re a Reckless Propagandist\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Carlson Warns of Catastrophic War<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Trump\u2019s Position and Carlson\u2019s Accusation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Critics Accuse Carlson of Undermining Allies<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Bigger Picture: A Divided Conservative Movement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n