Trump criticizes Tucker Carlson and calls him a "kooky" for his comments on Israel and Iran.

President Donald Trump expressed his displeasure with Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Monday in response to Carlson's recent criticism of Trump's handling of the conflict betweenIsrael and Iran.

On his Truth Social account, the Republican leader noted, "Somebody please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that,” IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!."

Moreover, during a meeting with the British prime minister at the G7 Summit, Trump commented to reporters, "I don’t know what Tucker Carlson is saying. Let him go get a television network and say it so that people listen.”

Carlson's criticism came in the wake of Israel's missile strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last week, which resulted in the deaths of several senior Iranian military officials.

In a Newsletter post, Carlson he described Trump as "complicit in the act of war" and asserted that events in the region "will define Donald Trump's presidency".

In addition, on his X account, he singled out as "war mongers" the hosts of Fox News, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin, among others, for pressuring Trump to involve the United States in a war against Iran.

The disagreement has generated different opinions among Republicans

The clash between Trump and Carlson generated a strong reaction within the American right, with several figures expressing their support for the president and others their disagreement with him. One of those who were part of the latter group was Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who stated through her X account that the journalist has amassed more popularity than ever since his departure from Fox News, adding that intervening in other countries' wars will break the United States.

"Tucker Carlson is one of my favorite people. He fiercely loves his wife, children, and our country. Since being fired by the neocon network Fox News, he has more popularity and viewers than ever before. He unapologetically believes the same things I do. That if we don’t fight for our own country and our own people then we will no longer have a country for our children and our grandchildren. And foreign wars/intervention/regime change put America last, kill innocent people, are making us broke, and will ultimately lead to our destruction. That’s not kooky. That’s what millions of Americans voted for. It’s what we believe is America First.," the Republican politician tweeted.

Another conservative figure who spoke out about the clash between the Republican leader and the famous right-wing journalist was the controversial analyst Candace Owens, who commented on her X account that Trump was making a serious mistake in publicly confronting Carlson, as he was generating a huge fracture in his base. "Donald Trump just completely fractured his base. And he did it for the very neocons who minted the #NeverTrump movement. Truly unbelievable.," Owens wrote on his X account.

On the other hand, among those who came out in favor of Trump, one of the most prominent was political commentator Mark Levin, who in addition to posting the photo of the president's publication criticizing Carlson, expressed in a tweet that true "patriots" stood by signatures with both Trump and Israel. "WE, IN REAL MAGA, REAL AMERICAN PATRIOTS, STAND WITH YOU, MR. PRESIDENT, OUR MILITARY, AND OUR ISRAELI ALLIES! Whatever is happening, we should strongly support our president and our troops, pray for them, speak out for them, and condemn any of the fake MAGA grifters, Marxists, Islamists, and the rest who seek to undermine our country especially at a time like this. President Trump has made clear that he wants peace, and that the Iranian regime with nuclear weapons is not about peace but genocide. For the vast majority of Americans, nothing could be clearer", wrote Levin.

Whatever is going on, we must stand firmly behind our president and our troops, pray for them, raise our voices for them, and condemn all the phony MAGA phonies, Marxists, Islamists and others who seek to undermine our country, especially at a time like this.

President Trump has made it clear that he wants peace, and that the nuclear-armed Iranian regime does not seek peace, but genocide. To the vast majority of Americans, nothing could be clearer," Levin wrote.

Bannon interview

Shortly after Trump's comments, Carlson released his most recent interview with political strategist Steve Bannon, with whom he discussed the current divide within the Republican Party, in what many have referred to in recent weeks as the dispute between the "neo-conversavore" right and the "woke" right.

In the interview, Carlson and Bannon touched on different points about that situation, including not only howgetting involved in the armed conflict between Israel and Iran will represent "the downfall of MAGA", but also the "dangerous" hypocrisy of anti-Trump Republicans who appear to be in favor of the president today. Likewise, the two discussed how Fox News has become a war-mongering propaganda machine and the numerous attacks on many U.S. right-wing figures who have spoken out against the war.

Carlson, who left Fox News in 2022, has been a staunch opponent of any U.S. military intervention in the Middle East.

Despite the tension, Carlson has historically been a media ally of Trump, having participated in last summer's Republican National Convention and hosted Trump on a speaking tour during the 2024 campaign.