U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee is not mincing words when it comes to Tucker Carlson’s criticism of President Donald Trump over Israel. It would neatly fit into the category of “righteous anger.”
“I don’t really care what Tucker says to me or about me, but I care deeply that he so routinely disparages the President with either direct attacks or inferences that his policies are wrong and hurtful to America and that President Trump is getting pushed around by foreign governments,” Ambassador Huckabee told me by text exchange.
“I take offense to that as someone who is very proud of the incredible job President Trump is doing in the US and around the world. No president in my lifetime comes close, and for Tucker to seek to undermine him and his decisions is divisive and dangerous.”
Huckabee went on to tell ALL ISRAEL NEWS Editor-in-Chief Joel Rosenberg that Carlson should not be anywhere near the White House. “Tucker repeatedly disparaged my president, my boss and this is hurtful to the movement, the party, and the United States of America,” the ambassador said.
“I hope they quit letting him into the White House because quite frankly, this is a person who is doing serious, significant damage to President Trump and to the administration.”
Hours after those comments, ALL ISRAEL NEWS learned that, apparently, Tucker Carlson was indeed at the White House on Monday. Jake Sherman, founder of Punchbowl News, reported this on 𝕏, as did Jack Posobiec of Human Events. As of this writing, there are no details as to why he was there or what was discussed, and the White House has not officially confirmed the visit. You can be sure we’ll follow up.
Carlson has undermined Trump and his policies regarding Israel in too many ways to count at this point. The plethora of accusations cut at the core of Trump’s political identity – strength, independence, and control over his own foreign policy. Somehow, Tucker Carlson believes that the strongest figure in modern American history has gone soft at the direction of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I highly take umbrage at the repeated insinuations and inferences, if not outright declarations, that President Trump is so weak that he is being led around by the Israeli government, and that he’s not really in charge, that the Israelis are,” Huckabee told Rosenberg.
Order Troy Anderson’s New Book, “Designated Disrupter” on Amazon.com!
“It’s one thing to say that he doesn’t like the job I’m doing – fine. But for him to make these accusations about President Trump, I find that inexcusable. I find it very damaging to America First movement, of which I feel a part of. It’s damaging to what I believe to be the greatest president not only in my lifetime, but certainly the greatest president that has ever led the US-Israel relationship.”
Trump has consistently framed support for Israel as aligned with American strength. During his first term, he moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and brokered normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab states under the banner of the Abraham Accords.
Those moves, among many others, cemented his reputation as one of the most pro-Israel presidents in modern history. They also solidified a long-standing Republican consensus that backing Israel was both strategic and morally clear.
However, Carlson is challenging that consensus. Since Oct. 7, he has publicly questioned whether U.S. financial and military backing of Israel is in America’s best interest.
He has also called Israel’s military strategy in Gaza a “genocide” and questioned whether Washington risks drifting into another prolonged Middle East conflict.
That framing has created tension and strains inside the GOP. It pits traditional pro-Israel conservatives and many Evangelical voters against this rising populist, non-interventionist wing that is increasingly skeptical of foreign entanglements.
While Carlson does not hold an elected office, he does hold a huge megaphone. At Fox News, Carlson routinely commanded one of the largest audiences in cable news. Since leaving, he has built a substantial digital platform, reaching tens of millions.
He frames his arguments around a consistent set of questions: Who benefits? Is this really America First? Are American leaders being manipulated by foreign interests , and those questions resonate with a segment of Republican voters who are wary of elite consensus and skeptical of overseas commitments.
But it’s not just that. He routinely interviews either anti-Israeli voices or antisemitic ones. Popular Conservative Radio Host Mark Levin told me it’s beyond time for Republican leaders to strongly rebuke him. “Tucker Carlson is so toxic and getting crazier and more vile by the hour,” Levin said. “The administration and GOP must openly condemn him and distance themselves from him. His racism, bigotry, antisemitism, and Christian-bashing, and his advocacy for Islamic regimes that fund terrorism, plus his psychotic behavior and serial lying, are cancerous to our country and our party.”
There are limits to Carlson’s influence. Evangelical voters remain overwhelmingly pro-Israel, and many Republican lawmakers are firmly aligned with Trump’s Israel record. Trump’s achievements on Israel are already deeply embedded in his political legacy, something Carlson is actively trying to destroy.
So, will President Trump publicly rebuke Tucker? It hasn’t happened yet. While there are reports that Trump privately urged Carlson to turn down the temperature on anti-Israel rhetoric, there hasn’t been a public severing of ties. It is no secret that Carlson speaks to a vocal, if not small, segment of the president’s base.
So, is Carlson getting too much credit here? Maybe. He is not going to dictate Trump’s foreign policy. Tucker was against bombing Iranian nuclear sites back last July, but Trump did it anyway.
However, he does influence and set the tone and direction for a meaningful slice of the Republican electorate and that’s harder to dismiss. Any fracture in the MAGA movement is a political nightmare for the current state of the Republican Party. And as Huckabee warned, that would be divisive and dangerous and possibly split MAGA beyond repair.
Read Joel Rosenberg’s full interview with Ambassador Huckabee here.
This article originally appeared on ALL ISRAEL NEWS and is reposted with permission.
