Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson delivered one of his sharpest rebukes yet of President Donald Trump on Wednesday, accusing the president of abandoning his “America First” promises and weakening the country through his handling of the Iran conflict.
Carlson, once considered one of Trump’s closest media allies, has grown increasingly vocal in his criticism of the administration following the outbreak of war with Iran earlier this year. The conservative commentator has repeatedly argued that the conflict has burdened Americans economically while pulling the United States deeper into another destabilizing foreign confrontation.
Speaking on Wednesday’s episode of The Tucker Carlson Show, Carlson questioned whether Trump had become overly aligned with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he accused of helping steer the United States into war with Iran in February.
Carlson has consistently opposed the war and previously lobbied Trump against entering the conflict. The fighting ultimately led Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz, a major global oil transit route, sending energy prices sharply higher and worsening inflation pressures already tied to the administration’s tariffs.
The former Fox News host centered much of his criticism around comments Trump made Tuesday regarding his popularity in Israel.
“I’m at 99% [approval] in Israel,” Trump said. “I could run for prime minister. So, maybe after I do this, I’ll go to Israel and run for prime minister. I had a poll this morning. I’m 99%, so that’s good.”
Carlson reacted angrily to the remarks, arguing that the president appeared more focused on foreign approval than on the concerns of struggling Americans at home.
“The president of the United States bragging about his popularity in a foreign country,” Carlson said. “Unmentioned is the fact that he’s 35% in the United States.”
He continued by accusing Trump of prioritizing overseas interests while American voters face economic pain tied to rising fuel costs and inflation. Carlson described the moment as symbolic of what he called “cold-hearted globalist betrayals,” saying Trump had spent the last year “looking outward toward the approval of other nations.”
According to Carlson, the administration has failed to deliver on the promise to “make America great again,” instead overseeing what he characterized as a rapid decline in American strength and influence.
“The last year has diminished American power at a rate some of us thought was unimaginable,” Carlson said, adding that even longtime Trump supporters failed to anticipate “the damage that this administration” could do to the country.
The comments marked a dramatic escalation in Carlson’s criticism of a president he once enthusiastically supported. Despite maintaining that he personally liked Trump and campaigned for him, Carlson suggested the administration’s foreign policy decisions have deeply alienated parts of the conservative base skeptical of foreign wars and rising economic strain at home.
Earlier this week, Carlson also appeared on an Israeli news program where he clashed with the host while again accusing Netanyahu of encouraging Trump toward war with Iran.
The White House responded harshly to Carlson’s criticism, dismissing him as “a low-IQ person who spreads fake news for cheap publicity.”
Meanwhile, The New York Times reported in April that Netanyahu presented Trump with a proposal in the White House Situation Room in February arguing that military action against Iran could destabilize the Iranian government and potentially lead to a replacement regime more favorable to both the United States and Israel.
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