Politics
JUST IN: Details Surface About Tucker Carlson’s Call, Apology To Trump
Top-rated conservative podcast host Tucker Carlson and President Trump reportedly spoke to each other over the phone Wednesday after public disagreements over the administration’s approach to the Israel-Iran conflict.
Carlson, who has long been opposed to unnecessary foreign interventions, has been arguing that proponents of U.S. involvement in the conflict have been unable to clearly define their objectives. The former Fox News host outlined these concerns during two recent podcasts with former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, in which he compared the build-up to a potential conflict to the early days of the Iraq War.
“We love Israel, we wanna help, but we’re not gonna imperial American national security, the American economy, America itself on your behalf. That’s immoral for us. Our population doesn’t want it,” Carlson told Bannon.
President Trump reacted harshly to Carlson’s statements, which included direct critiques of the administration’s Iran policies, in a social media post Tuesday. “Somebody please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that,”IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,” the president wrote.
While speaking with reporters in the White House Thursday, President Trump was asked about Carlson’s tense interview with Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and his current relationship with the podcast host.
“Have you seen the Tucker Carlson and Senator Ted Cruz interview? It seems like this issue on whether or not the United States should strike is kind of dividing a lot of your supporters,” said CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.
“No, my supporters are for me. My supporters are America first. They make America great again. My supporters don’t want to see Iran have a nuclear weapon,” the president replied before issuing kind words for Carlson.
“Tucker’s a nice guy. He called and apologized the other day because he thought he said things that were a little bit too strong. And I appreciated that,” he said. “And Ted Cruz is a nice guy. I mean, he’s been with me for a long time. I’d say once the race was over, he’s been with me ever since. Right. But very simple. If they think that it’s okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, then they should oppose me, but nobody thinks it’s okay. People that don’t want to — I don’t want to fight either. I’m not looking to fight. But if it’s a choice between fighting and them having a nuclear weapon, you have to do what you have to do.”
Elsewhere in the impromptu press conference, President Trump revealed that Iran is pushing for a meeting in order to de-escalate the conflict.
“Look, they should have made the deal. I had a great deal for them. They should have made that deal. 60 days we talked about it and in the end they decided not to do it and now they wish they did it,” Trump told reporters. “And they want to meet but it’s, you know, it’s a little late to meet but they want to meet and they want to come to the White House. They’ll even come to the White House. So we’ll see.”
