They were once on the same side.
But now, Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson have fallen out — and the split is making headlines.
Naming names
Once political allies, Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson are now locked in a very public feud. The rift between didn’t come out of nowhere — it started brewing days ago, and it all centers on Israel’s latest military actions against Iran.
In a fiery takedown, Carlson accused several prominent media figures of aggressively pushing Donald Trump to take a more active role in the Middle East conflict. He claims there’s been a coordinated push to drag the U.S. into a dangerous situation that doesn’t serve American interests.
“Who are the warmongers? They would include anyone who’s calling Donald Trump today to demand air strikes and other direct US military involvement in a war with Iran,” Carlson wrote.
He didn’t hold back in naming names, either:
“On that list: Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Rupert Murdoch, Ike Perlmutter and Miriam Adelson. At some point they will all have to answer for this, but you should know their names now,” he added.
In a scathing newsletter on Friday, Carlson also said:
“Sure, the American military didn’t pull the trigger. But after years of pouring money and weapons into Israel — and with Trump literally bragging on Truth Social about that support — we’re kidding ourselves if we think we’re not involved.”
“They helped make it happen,” he continued. “You can’t call yourself ‘America First’ and then act shocked when the mess you funded blows up. We’re in this deep—and pretending otherwise is a lie.”
Trump’s brutal answer
The post added fuel to an already tense situation — and marked a clear turning point in Carlson’s increasingly vocal break from Trump and his inner circle.
But the president didn’t mince words Monday when asked about Carlson’s criticism. After the former Fox News star accused Trump of being “complicit” in the deadly Israeli strikes, Trump made it clear he’s not paying much attention.
“I don’t know what Tucker Carlson is saying. Let him go get a television network and say it so that people listen,” Trump told reporters.
Trump also fired back in an interview with The Atlantic, defending his stance and reminding everyone who coined the phrase.
“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.
”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.”
”Really hurt my country”
Carlson, however, isn’t backing down. Speaking to Steve Bannon on his podcast, the former TV host made it personal — and national.
“You’re not going to convince me that the Iranian people are my enemy,” Carlson told Bannon, one of Trump’s key advisors during his first term.
“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,” he continued. “I just don’t want my country to be further weakened or destroyed by another one of these wars.”
Carlson’s latest broadside is sure to spark heated debate across the political spectrum.
Is he courageously calling out a dangerous foreign entanglement—or dangerously undermining an ally in a time of crisis? As U.S. politicians and media figures double down on support for Israel, Carlson is daring to ask a question many won’t: At what point does “support” become complicity?
And if “America First” still means anything, how far are we willing to go before it becomes America last?
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