In a dramatic divergence from President Donald Trump, talk show host Tucker Carlson Friday unleashed a scathing commentary in his daily newsletter, asserting that the United States should “drop Israel” and “let them fight their own wars” in the wake of Israel’s recent preemptive strikes on Iran.
This comes as the volatile Middle East plunges deeper into conflict, with Iran already launching retaliatory strikes intercepted by Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a televised address to the nation, declared the operation’s objective is to “roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival” and vowed it “will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”
Carlson’s rebuke targets what he views as President Trump’s complicity in the burgeoning war, a stance that he argues betrays the “America First” promise that propelled Trump to power.
“If Israel wants to wage this war, it has every right to do so. It is a sovereign country, and it can do as it pleases,” Carlson wrote, “But not with America’s backing.”
READ :Explosions Rock Iran As Israel Targets Nuclear And Military Sites In Preemptive Strike
Supporting Israel’s assault on Iran has reportedly caused the president to lose some of his longest-term acolytes, with Tucker Carlson appearing to be one such loss.
Carlson’s Friday newsletter titled: “This Could Be the Final Newsletter Before All-Out War,” saw Carlson accuse Donald Trump of being “complicit in the act of war” and chastise executive decisions he said had effectively launched U.S. soldiers into another war in the Middle East.
President Trump, in stark contrast, has publicly endorsed Israel’s actions, calling them “very successful” and vowing U.S. defense if Iran retaliates.
In a Truth Social post, Trump warned that the situation “will only get worse” for Iran if a nuclear deal isn’t reached “before it’s too late.”
“I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest of words, to “just do it,” but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done. I told them it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come – And they know how to use it,” Trump wrote.
“Certain Iranian hardliner’s spoke bravely, but they didn’t know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!” Trump wrote. “There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end. Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. God Bless You All!”
READ: Iran Vows “Severe Punishment” Against Israel After Launch Of “Operation Rising Lion”
Carlson, who has long expressed skepticism about the immediate threat of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, reiterated his belief that a war with the Islamic Republic would result in “thousands” of American casualties and effectively “end his presidency.” He specifically accused Trump of “being complicit in the act of war” through “years of funding and sending weapons to Israel.”
“Direct U.S. involvement in a war with Iran,” Carlson argued, “would be a middle finger in the faces of the millions of voters who cast their ballots in hopes of creating a government that would finally put the United States first.” He concluded, “What happens next will define Donald Trump’s presidency.”
Carlson also directly addressed concerns about U.S. involvement, quoting unnamed Washington sources who “expressed concern over Israel’s ability to fend off Iran’s retaliation, which would inevitably lead to Benjamin Netanyahu ordering the American military to step in and fight on his country’s behalf.”
He added, “On Thursday, Iran’s president threatened to ‘destroy’ any country that eliminates his government’s nuclear facilities. Now, the world will learn what that looks like.”
READ: U.S. Orders Partial Evacuation Of Baghdad Embassy Amid Soaring Mideast Tensionsdad
Furthermore, Carlson rejected Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s insistence that the White House had not been involved in the bubbling tensions preceding the attack and that the administration was prioritizing the safety of American forces.
“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 continued. “Washington knew these attacks would happen. 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.”
The commentary arrives on the heels of Israel’s “long-awaited attack” on Iran Thursday night, which saw dozens of missiles bombard key nuclear facilities and at least five military bases. Reports indicate the assault killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Hossein Salami and other top military leaders, with Israel believing additional officials and nuclear scientists also perished.
The preemptive strike followed a warning from White House envoy Steve Witkoff about a potential “mass casualty response” from Iran. Unnamed Washington sources had also expressed concern over Israel’s ability to withstand Iran’s retaliation without U.S. military intervention.
In response, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned Israel that it “must expect severe punishment” following what he termed the “crime” of attacking Iran and killing several top-level military commanders and six nuclear scientists.
Shortly after the Israeli strikes, the Israeli military reported that Iran launched approximately 100 drones, with the army actively working to intercept them. The full extent of the damage from both the Israeli strikes and the Iranian drone attack remains unclear, as do any potential casualties.
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