Tucker Carlson slams Trump over ‘absolutely disgusting’ strikes on Iran

Far-right podcaster who campaigned on behalf of  Trump in 2024 leads populist backlash against the president’s decision to strike Iran.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

Internet personality and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson excoriated President Donald Trump over the weekend over his decision to strike Iran in a joint air campaign with Israel, denouncing America’s war with the Islamic Republic as “absolutely disgusting and evil.”

Carlson spoke with ABC News on Saturday, just hours after the US and Israel launched a combined surprise attack on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of senior regime officials.

“This is going to shuffle the deck in a profound way,” Carlson warned.

The far-right pundit criticized Trump last June over the one-day American air campaign targeting Iran’s nuclear program, while warning that US involvement could lead to the deaths of tens of thousands of American service members.

In a rare public criticism, Trump rebuked Carlson in June, calling the commentator “kooky.”

“Somebody please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.

However, the two seemingly reconciled afterward, with Carlson receiving an invitation to visit the White House on January 11.

Several far-right Republican lawmakers also voiced criticism of Trump’s decision to strike Iran.

Former Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene expressed outrage on Saturday, calling Trump administration officials “liars” in a post to her X account.

“The Trump admin actually asked in a poll how many casualties voters were willing to accept in a war with Iran??? How about ZERO you bunch of sick (expletive) liars. We voted for America First and ZERO wars,” Greene wrote.

“We said ‘No More Foreign Wars, No More Regime Change!’ … Trump, (Vice President JD) Vance, basically the entire admin campaigned on it and promised to put America FIRST and Make America Great Again (MAGA).”

Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky wrote on X  that he is “opposed to this war” and vowed to work with Democrats to limit Trump’s ability to continue the conflict.

“This is not ‘America First.’ When Congress reconvenes, I will work with Rep. Ro Khanna to force a Congressional vote on war with Iran.”

“The Constitution requires a vote, and your Representative needs to be on record as opposing or supporting this war.”

One pro-Trump influencer opposed to war with Iran did not turn on the president after Saturday’s strikes, however.

Steve Bannon, a former adviser to Trump during his first term who now hosts the “War Room” podcast, was a vocal opponent of American military intervention in Iran but declined to criticize the president after the war began Saturday.

On Sunday, Bannon even appeared to offer cautious support for the operation, calling it a “spectacular humane peace mission” and a “spectacular military operation.”