THE NEW YORK TIMES: Tucker Carlson has been at the center of our political conversation and conservative media for a decade now. Few media figures are more closely identified with the Trump era. His hugely popular Fox News show started just after the 2016 election, and despite being fired by that network in 2023, Carlson has remained a Trumpworld fixture, launching his own network, boosting Donald Trump on his podcast and at campaign rallies, sitting in Trump’s box during the Republican National Convention and attending his inauguration.
Then, in February, President Trump made the call to attack Iran alongside Israel, a decision that Carlson is completely opposed to. He now says he regrets supporting Trump and has become a vocal and influential critic of the administration on his show. He also blames Israel for making Trump a “slave” by, as he characterizes it, pushing the president into war. Because of this focus on Israel, and his high-profile interview of the white nationalist influencer Nick Fuentes, critics have accused him of antisemitism.
To understand this break with the president and more, I traveled to Maine to sit down with Carlson, and then we spoke again remotely a few days later. We had a wide-ranging conversation about his views on the war, his Fuentes episode, his friendship with Vice President JD Vance and, more surreally, whether he thinks Trump is the Antichrist — something he’s been musing about on his show. » | Lulu Garcia-Navarro | Saturday, May 2, 2026
