Tucker Carlson apologizes for helping elect President Trump
Tucker Carlson said on the April 20 episode of “The Tucker Carlson Show” that he is “complicated” in the Iran war by supporting President Donald Trump.
- Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson said he defended President Trump’s policies throughout his time as president.
- Currently, Carlson is increasingly critical of Trump and the Iran war.
Tucker Carlson said he regrets campaigning for President Donald Trump, who has recently come under increasing criticism for the Iran war.
“We’re going to suffer from that for a long time,” Carlson said on “The Tucker Carlson Show” on April 20 about her and her brother’s support for Trump. “That’s going to happen. And I want to say I’m sorry for misleading people. It wasn’t intentional. That’s all I can say.”
Carlson, a former Fox News host, has been increasingly critical of President Trump since the war began. He joins Marjorie Taylor Greene, Candace Owens and other former MAGA stars who have spoken out against the president in recent months.
Carlson once said, “I love Trump as a human being.” Here’s what you need to know about their latest breakdown.
Who is Tucker Carlson?
Carlson is a former Fox News host who left the network in 2023 shortly after the network settled a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting for $787.5 million. After his retirement, he continued to be a prominent conservative commentator with his Tucker Carlson Network.
Mr. Carlson was very publicly supportive of Mr. Trump throughout his first term as president, but documents revealed during the Dominion case showed a more complicated story.
After the 2020 election, Carlson sent a message to producers saying, “We are very close to being able to ignore Mr. Trump almost every night. I just can’t wait.”
After the documents were released, he told WABC that he has defended President Trump’s policies for four years and will continue to do so. When Trump became the Republican candidate again, Carlson supported him.
“Aside from everything else about Trump, he actually cares because he’s interested in the people who live here, because that’s his job. A father’s duty is to his family, an officer’s duty is to his subordinates, a president’s duty is to his people, and he seems to be the only one who thinks that way,” he said at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
What does Tucker Carlson say about Trump?
Shortly after the first Israeli-American attack on Iran, Carlson said on his YouTube channel that the war was what Israel wanted and was not in the best interest of the United States. (The following week, after Mr. Rubio said an Israeli attack was imminent, President Trump said the attack was a pre-emptive strike and that the United States may have forced Israel’s hand.)
Carlson said President Trump’s Easter threats against Iranian infrastructure are “despicable” on “every level.” He, along with other right-wing figures, also questioned Trump’s mental health heading into office.
On April 15, Carlson claimed that a now-deleted AI photo of Trump hugging Jesus “mocks” Jesus and Christianity, with many saying he looked like Jesus.
On the April 20 broadcast, Carlson said he, his brother and others who helped get Trump elected were “involved” in the presidency.
“I think this is kind of a period of wrestling with our own conscience,” he said. “It’s not enough to just say, ‘I changed my mind,’ or, ‘Oh, this is bad, I’m not going to do it anymore.’ It’s a very small thing, but in a very real sense, you and I and millions of people like us are like the reason this is happening right now. ”
What does President Trump say about Tucker Carlson?
When Carlson was kicked out of Fox News in 2023, Trump called him “a great person to me.”
However, in an April 9 Truth social post, President Trump attacked Carlson and other right-wing commentators who have criticized Trump and the Iran war, calling them “low IQs.”
“Tucker Carlson didn’t even make it through college. He was a broken man when he was fired from Fox. He’s never the same. Maybe he should see a good psychiatrist!” the post read. “MAGA is about victory and strength in not allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon. MAGA is about making America great again, and these guys don’t know how, but I do, because America is now the ‘hottest’ country anywhere in the world!” ”
Contributions: Taijuan Moorman, Zac Anderson, David Jackson, Erin Mansfield, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is a Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Please contact KCrowley@usatodayco.com. follow her X (Twitter), thread, blue sky and TikTok.
