Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has strongly criticised his former network over US involvement in the ongoing Israel–Iran conflict. Carlson, once seen as an ally of Donald Trump, has now called on the administration and conservative voices to stop pushing the country towards war. In an appearance on Steve Bannon’s show War Room, Carlson said US media was promoting military escalation, accusing Fox News of using propaganda to sway its older audience. “What they are doing is what they always do—turning up the propaganda hose to full blast and trying to knock elderly Fox viewers off their feet,” he said. Carlson has directly named several conservative figures he said were pushing Trump to act, including Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Rupert Murdoch, Ike Perlmutter, and Miriam Adelson. In a post on X, he described them as “warmongers,” urging US military strikes and warning that “at some point they will all have to answer for this”.“The real divide isn’t between people who support Israel or Iran. The real divide is between those who casually encourage violence and those who seek to prevent it,” he added.
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Carlson also criticised Trump for being “complicit in an act of war” after Israel’s recent missile strikes on Iranian nuclear sites and military leaders. In his newsletter titled ‘This could be the final newsletter before all-out war’, he wrote that the US president was hoping the escalation might somehow help ongoing nuclear negotiations with Tehran. When asked about Carlson’s criticism during the G7 summit, Trump took a jibe at Carlson. “I don’t know what Tucker Carlson is saying. Let him go get a television network and say it so that people listen,” said Trump. Fox News had ousted Carlson in 2023, shortly after settling a high-profile defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for $787 million. Carlson had been expected to testify in the trial, according to AP report. His departure marked the end of a prime-time era where he was one of the network’s most influential hosts, known for his sharp commentary and large following.