Trump Escalates His Feud With Tucker Carlson Over Israel And Iran

"Let him go get a television network and say it so that people listen," the president fired off at the former Fox News star.
LOADINGERROR LOADING

President Donald Trump escalated his feud with his one-time vocal ally Tucker Carlson, telling reporters Monday that no one is paying attention to the former Fox News host or his concerns about Israel’s military action in Iran.

“I don’t know what Tucker Carlson is saying. Let him go get a television network and say it so that people listen,” the president said after Carlson, a highly watched Fox News personality until his 2023 firing, accused Trump of being “complicit” in Israel’s attacks on Iran.

pic.twitter.com/l5rXVSYVfY

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) <a href=https://www.huffpost.com/"https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1934730231849603085?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\%22>June 16, 2025</a></blockquote>","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Yashar Ali 🐘","author_url":"https://twitter.com/yashar","cache_age":86400,"description":"President Trump responds to Tucker Carlson’s comments that he is complicit in the war. Trump: \"I don't know what Tucker Carlson is saying. Let him go get a television network and say it so that people listen.\" pic.twitter.com/l5rXVSYVfY— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) June 16, 2025\n\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":328,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/amplify_video_thumb/1934730177730551808/img/RfWLUDSwailpnt0r.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":640,"title":"Yashar Ali 🐘 on Twitter / X","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1934730231849603085","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"desktop","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://www.huffpost.com","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isAdsFree":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"68509c36e4b0e06f8e604a68","entryPermalink":"https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-tucker-carlson-fued_n_68509c36e4b0e06f8e604a68","entryTagsList":"donald-trump,israel,iran,tucker-carlson,@us_huffpost_now","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"media","isWide":false,"isShopping":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayer":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22","noAdsPlayer":"deeeda04-49cb-4a1d-ac6c-c388a685b58e"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/2a1b4083-0265-419d-a4b6-712a6c47d916/1_th.jpg?crop=629:354,smart&width=629&height=354&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":3},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"68509c36e4b0e06f8e604a68","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"desktop","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/donald-trump","permalink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/donald-trump","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/donald-trump"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/donald-trump"},{"name":"Israel","slug":"israel","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/israel","permalink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/israel","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/israel"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"World News","slug":"world-news"},"topic":{"title":"Middle East","slug":"middle-east","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/middle-east"},{"name":"Iran","slug":"iran","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/iran","permalink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/iran","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/iran"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"World News","slug":"world-news"},"topic":{"title":"Middle East","slug":"middle-east","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/middle-east"},{"name":"tucker carlson","slug":"tucker-carlson","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/tucker-carlson","permalink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/tucker-carlson","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/tucker-carlson"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Media","slug":"media"},"topic":{"title":"Tucker Carlson","slug":"tucker-carlson","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/tucker-carlson"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"backfillRelatedArticles":[{"editionId":"us","headline":"Trump And Tucker Carlson Are Falling Out Over Trump’s Support For Israel","defaultImage":{"type":"hector","url":"https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/684ef9c4190000e2762470ab.jpeg","queryParams":{"cache":"guJjLdt5z6"},"width":1599,"height":899,"credit":"Getty Images","ops":""},"url":"https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tucker-carlson-criticizes-trump-supporting-israel_n_684edd1ce4b0dde371e5f9a7","dek":"The former Fox News host accused Trump of being “complicit” in Israel’s “act of war” following Israel’s recent military strikes on Iran."},{"editionId":"us","headline":"Marjorie Taylor Greene Makes Rare Break From Trump — And It’s All About Tucker Carlson","defaultImage":{"type":"hector","url":"https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/68515b0a190000f609247445.jpeg","queryParams":{"cache":"XLUojrLJgw"},"width":1600,"height":900,"credit":"Left: J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press; Right: Suzanne Plunkett/Pool/Associated Press","ops":""},"url":"https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marjorie-taylor-greene-makes-break-from-trump-over-tucker-carlson_n_68513b59e4b0e06f8e60b2bd","dek":"The Georgia Republican has always stood by the president, but she recently sided with the former Fox News host on the topic of American foreign policy."},{"editionId":"us","headline":"Can Trump Prevent A Massive Middle East War?","defaultImage":{"type":"hector","url":"https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/684c4304190000df07880d21.jpeg","queryParams":{},"width":8192,"height":5464,"credit":"ATTA KENARE via Getty Images","ops":""},"url":"https://www.huffpost.com/entry/iran-israel-trump_n_684c42bfe4b0897e37f9b127","dek":"Israel's dramatic ongoing strikes against Iran present a perilous test for a U.S. foreign policy team that is understaffed and riven by factional disputes."},{"editionId":"us","headline":"Israel’s Dangerous War Against Iran Is Escalating — With Donald Trump’s Tacit Blessing","defaultImage":{"type":"hector","url":"https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/684e1b2f190000f063880e33.jpeg","queryParams":{},"width":8640,"height":5760,"credit":"via Associated Press","ops":""},"url":"https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-iran-israel-war_n_684e19d5e4b0028eac532cf5","dek":"The U.S. has unique power to force restraint, but with the offensive on its third day and the death toll rising, there is little sign Trump will wield his leverage."},{"editionId":"us","headline":"‘It’s Possible’: Trump Won’t Rule Out Future U.S. Involvement In Israel-Iran Conflict","defaultImage":{"type":"hector","url":"https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/684ff503190000d6ac2471ac.jpeg","queryParams":{"cache":"HAySnojDU6"},"width":6000,"height":4000,"credit":"Tasos Katopodis via Getty Images","ops":""},"url":"https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-us-could-get-involved-iran-israel-conflict_n_684fef30e4b03c462a05708c","dek":"The U.S. president added that he would be “open” to having Russian President Vladimir Putin help end the fighting."}],"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["<div id=\"ad-inline-1\" class=\"ad-entry_paragraph_1 ad-spot--gam ad-spot--gam-inline-1\"></div>\r\n<script type=\"text/javascript\">\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-1\", \"entry_paragraph_1\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n</script>\r\n","<div id=\"ad-inline-2\" class=\"ad-entry_paragraph_3 ad-spot--gam ad-spot--gam-inline-2\"></div>\r\n<script type=\"text/javascript\">\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-2\", \"entry_paragraph_3\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n</script>\r\n","<div id=\"ad-inline-infinite\" class=\"ad-repeating_dynamic_display ad-spot--gam ad-spot--gam-inline-infinite\"></div>\r\n<script type=\"text/javascript\">\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-infinite\", \"repeating_dynamic_display\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n</script>\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">

President Trump responds to Tucker Carlson’s comments that he is complicit in the war.

Trump: "I don't know what Tucker Carlson is saying. Let him go get a television network and say it so that people listen." pic.twitter.com/l5rXVSYVfY

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) June 16, 2025

Carlson raised his concerns in a Friday newsletter, lashing out at Trump after Israel launched attacks that killed hundreds of Iranians on Thursday.

“While the American military may not have physically perpetrated the assault, years of funding and sending weapons to Israel, which Donald Trump just bragged about on Truth Social, undeniably place the U.S. at the center of last night’s events,” Carlson wrote.

“They aided Israel in carrying them out. Politicians purporting to be America First can’t now credibly turn around and say they had nothing to do with it. Our country is in deep,” his newsletter continued.

Trump responded Saturday in an Atlantic interview.

“Well, considering that I’m the one that developed ‘America First,’ and considering that the term wasn’t used until I came along, I think I’m the one that decides that,” Trump said, adding: “For those people who say they want peace—you can’t have peace if Iran has a nuclear weapon. So for all of those wonderful people who don’t want to do anything about Iran having a nuclear weapon—that’s not peace.”

Trump and Carlson shake hands during a 2024 campaign stop.
Trump and Carlson shake hands during a 2024 campaign stop.
PATRICK T. FALLON via Getty Images

Carlson remained firm in his stance during an appearance on Steve Bannon’s podcast Monday.

“You’re not going to convince me that the Iranian people are my enemy,” he said to Bannon, who served as one of Trump’s chief strategists during his first term in the White House.

The U.S. is “on the cusp of entering a war on behalf of a political leader in a faraway country that’s going to really hurt my country,” Carlson continued, adding: “I just don’t want my country to be further weakened or destroyed by another one of these wars.”

Close

What's Hot