President Donald Trump lashed out at Tucker Carlson on Thursday over the conservative commentator’s criticism of the U.S. war with Iran, claiming he was out of step with his base.
“Tucker has lost his way,” Trump told ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl. “I knew that a long time ago, and he’s not MAGA. MAGA is saving our country. MAGA is making our country great again. MAGA is America first, and Tucker is none of those things. And Tucker is really not smart enough to understand that.”
Trump did not address allegations of antisemitism against Carlson in the published comments, which came the same day that Carlson expanded his condemnation of the Iran war to claim that the Chabad-Lubavitch Jewish movement was stoking the conflict to start a “religious war” that would allow the construction of a Third Temple in Jerusalem. The conspiratorial claims, which followed a series of attacks on Chabad gatherings, sparked an outcry among Jewish leaders and raised security concerns.
Carlson, who has become one of Israel’s staunchest critics within the Republican coalition, has vociferously condemned the joint U.S.-Israel campaign in Iran over the past week, telling Karl on Saturday that the attack was “absolutely disgusting and evil.” He also told Karl it could affect Trump’s base, saying, “This is going to shuffle the deck in a profound way.”
On Monday, Trump offered an earlier rebuke of Carlson’s Iran rhetoric, claiming that his and Megyn Kelly’s condemnation of U.S. involvement in the conflict were not representative of his base.
“I think that MAGA is Trump — MAGA’s not the other two,” Trump told the independent journalist Rachel Bade of Carlson and Kelly, adding, “MAGA loves what I’m doing — every aspect of it. … This is a detour that we have to take in order to keep our country safe and keep other countries safe, frankly.”
Trump’s latest criticism of Carlson, a divisive figure within the Republican tent whose amplification of antisemitic voices has drawn outcry from Jewish conservatives, marks a notable public break between the president and one of the most influential figures in conservative media.
In November, Trump defended Carlson as he faced scrutiny over his interview with antisemitic streamer Nick Fuentes, saying he had “found him to be good” and asserting “you can’t tell him who to interview.” As calls to oust antisemitic figures from the Republican tent intensified, Trump offered his assessment in January, saying, “I think we don’t like them.”
Trump’s comments Thursday were quickly praised by some Republican Jewish voices, including the Republican Jewish Coalition which wrote in response to Karl’s post, “President Trump is 100% correct. Tucker is NOT MAGA.”
Florida Jewish Rep. Randy Fine, who has repeatedly drawn scrutiny for his rhetoric about Muslims, also praised Trump’s comments in a post on X, adding that Carlson “needs to be excommunicated from the Republican Party.”
Far-right Jewish activist Laura Loomer thanked Trump for his “moral clarity and disavowing Tucker,” adding that the “GOP has a Nazi problem and we need to put that to rest, NOW!”
Loomer had previously called on Trump to disavow Carlson and said she would not vote again for Republicans unless antisemites were rooted out from the party’s coalition.
“Every single member of GOP leadership must condemn @TuckerCarlson. Especially @JDVance,” wrote Loomer in a post on X. “We cannot allow for this level of Jew hatred to be accepted in the GOP.”
Loomer’s calls mirrored those of other prominent Jewish conservatives who have pressed Vice President JD Vance to distance the party from far-right activists, including Nick Fuentes and Tucker Carlson, whom they accuse of trafficking in antisemitic rhetoric.
Thus far, Vance has largely shied from directly condemning antisemitic figures within the party. In December, the vice president rejected claims that antisemitism was surging within the Republican party, and last week, he praised Carlson’s interview with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, which sparked outcry over Carlson’s invocation of antisemitic conspiracy theories. To some observers, Vance appears to be increasingly sidelined within the administration, with his anti-intervention vision failing to prevail and other of his pet policies not advancing.
