Tucker Carlson calls for the US to ‘detach’ from Israel following deadly strikes on Lebanon

Conservative pundit and Iran war critic says it is ‘just masochism’ to continue to arm and finance an ally whose priorities run contrary to ‘core American interests’
Conservative pundit Tucker Carlson has called on the U.S.

to “detach” from Israel after the fragile ceasefire agreement in the Iran war was almost immediately placed in jeopardy by ongoing Israeli attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon .

Iran and Pakistan, which helped broker the eleventh-hour agreement Tuesday, said Lebanon was included in the deal to secure a two-week pause in the fighting , but Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and the White House said it was not.

Lebanon subsequently said that 203 people were killed in Israeli strikes on its territory Wednesday, with more than 1,000 wounded.

Carlson – who has broken with President Donald Trump’s administration over the conflict - is a long-time critic of Israel but has also previously been accused of antisemitism, a charge he has denied.

“The United States has to – and hopefully the first thing we do, when and if this war’s resolved, is detach from Israel,” the commentator argued on the latest instalment of The Tucker Carlson Show Wednesday.

Invoking an incident during the Six-Day War of June 1967, Carlson clarified: “Not declare war on Israel or treat Israel as an enemy – they may treat us as an enemy, as they have before, when they tried to sink the USS Liberty , an American naval vessel, a surveillance vessel.

They treated us as an enemy.

“We don’t have to treat them as an enemy, however, and we shouldn’t.

But we should treat them like we treat every other country – as an ally but with restrictions and reservations and redlines.

‘No, you can’t act against our interest.’
He continued: “And this distancing should begin with a total end of aid of any kind, military or economic, to Israel by the U.S.

government.

And people who love Israel, some of whom are pretty successful, can send all the money they want to Israel.

And that’s fine.

“But the U.S.

government should send not one more dollar to Israel and not one more piece of military materiel to Israel.

Not one more fighter jet or bomb or missile defense system or small arm or ammunition of any kind.”
Carlson went on to accuse Israel of “aggressively acting against our interest and so, to continue to arm and finance them – their generous welfare state, for example, or their military, defend their nation – is not only contrary to core American interests, it’s just masochism.”
The commentator has been accused of becoming increasingly vocal in his criticisms of Israel since leaving Fox News in 2023 and going solo.

Last year, he was criticized for appearing to suggest at the memorial service for Charlie Kirk – the founder of Turning Point USA, who was shot dead on a Utah university campus last fall – that he had been assassinated by Israel, for which there is no evidence, as he compared the deceased’s fate to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Carlson was subsequently called out by Ben Shapiro at a TPUSA conference for conducting a softball interview with avowed white nationalist Nick Fuentes, was labelled the “most dangerous antisemite in America” by controversial Florida Republican Rep.

Randy Fine and named “Antisemite of the Year” by the StopAntisemitism watchdog.

During a TPUSA convention in December, Carlson said he was not an antisemite because “antisemitism is immoral in my religion.

It is immoral to hate people for how they were born”.

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