The anticipated interview between US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and anti-Israel media figure Tucker Carlson is expected to be published this week, following weeks of sharp public confrontation over Israel, which included references to Christians in the country and the American right's relationship with the Jewish state.
The interview was arranged after Carlson published a series of videos and footage from the Middle East in which he harshly criticized Israel and what he called "the failure of American Christian leaders to defend Christians in Jerusalem." One video claimed that Huckabee "failed Jerusalem's Christians" and that Israel discriminates against Christians, sparking furious reactions in the pro-Israel camp.
In videos filmed during his visit to Jordan, Carlson presented the Hashemite Kingdom as a positive model for preserving religious freedom and the existence of Christian communities in the Middle East. Carlson visited churches and Christian sites, met with local clergy, and claimed that Christians in Jordan enjoy "a freer and safer environment" compared to their situation in Israel.
Huckabee chose to respond directly and publicly. In a post on X, he wrote to Carlson, "Instead of talking about me, why don't you come talk to me? You seem to be generating a lot of heat about the Middle East. Why be afraid of the light?" Carlson responded quickly, "Thanks for this. I'd be happy to. We'll reach out to your office to set up an interview," and Huckabee replied, "I look forward to the conversation."
But beyond the public exchange, the tension between the two runs much deeper. In a podcast interview, the ambassador addressed harsh remarks Carlson had made about him. When asked if he thinks Carlson is antisemitic, he responded, "If he's not, he's hiding his love for Jews very carefully. This is not the Tucker Carlson I've known since 1991."
Huckabee added that while Carlson is "a smart man, he's ignorant when it comes to Israel," and made it clear he doesn't know what drives his positions. "I can't point and say he's receiving money from a foreign country or from pro-foreign country elements. I don't know that. But I saw his interview in Doha with Qatar's prime minister – soft questions and outrageous statements."
According to him, Carlson even attacked him personally. "He said I have 'a virus in my brain,' and that there's no person in the world he despises more than Christian Zionists. I thought to myself, 'That puts me in a very special category. Worse than a serial killer? Than a terrorist?'"
While Huckabee emphasized that it's Carlson's right to express himself as he wishes due to free speech, he made it clear he's not prepared to remain silent in the face of his words. "I'm not going to stay quiet when people say Winston Churchill was the real villain of World War II, and Hitler wasn't so bad. If you stay quiet, you're agreeing."
Carlson, the former Fox News star who was fired in 2023, has become in recent years one of the most prominent anti-Israel voices in the American right. Since launching his podcast, he has given a platform to Holocaust denier and white supremacy supporter Nick Fuentes, and to a historian who presented Churchill as the villain of World War II and minimized Nazi crimes.
He conducted a sympathetic interview with Qatar's prime minister at the Doha Forum and even announced the purchase of a home in the principality, and at Charlie Kirk's memorial service, he hinted that his killers were "the hummus eaters from Jerusalem," echoing the antisemitic accusation that Jews were responsible for Jesus's crucifixion.
If it takes place, the interview is expected to be the first in which a senior Trump administration official directly confronts Carlson since the recent storms surrounding his positions toward Israel and Christian Zionism. According to reports, it's an interview expected to generate widespread interest and deepen the rift within the conservative camp over Israel, Christians in the country, and relations between Washington and Jerusalem.
