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| AP Photo/Alex Brandon |
Popular anti-Israel conservative commentator briefly visits country to interview Huckabee; friend of the two who was present for interview says Carlson told her that Trump wants GOP infighting over Israel reined in
Popular American right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson briefly arrived in Israel on Wednesday to interview US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, later asserting that he was detained by Israeli security staff in a claim that was denied by both Israel and Huckabee.
After landing in the country, Carlson posted a picture from Ben Gurion Airport with the caption, “Greetings from Israel.” He departed without leaving the airport’s VIP terminal.
Carlson’s brief airport visit came after last week on his podcast, “The Tucker Carlson Show” — in which the host regularly blasts Israel in terms that many describe as evoking classic antisemitic tropes — he accused Huckabee of not doing enough to ensure proper treatment of Christians in Israel, prompting Huckabee to respond on X, “Instead of talking about me, why don’t you come talk to me?”
Carlson later welcomed the invitation, and both figures posted that they were working to set up an interview.
In a separate clash last month, Huckabee slammed Carlson on X for comments he made last year denying that Hamas is a terrorist group and saying it “seems more like a political organization.” Last year, in a highly controversial interview with Holocaust denier and avowed antisemite Nick Fuentes that exposed a growing rift on the American right over Jew hatred and anti-Zionism, Carlson claimed Huckabee and other Christian Zionist conservatives have been “seized by this brain virus.”
Israel initially considered barring Carlson from entering the country for the expected visit, but decided against the move so as not to cause a “diplomatic incident,” according to a Channel 13 news report.
Huckabee, who has known Carlson for over 30 years, had invited him to spend a few days in Israel, but Carlson declined, The Times of Israel learned. --->READ MORE HERE
Tucker Carlson claimed that he and his staff were detained at an Israeli airport — but US Ambassador Mike Huckabee said it was merely a routine customs screening.
Carlson — a vocal critic of US-Israel policy who has been accused of using antisemitic language — has traveled to Israel to interview Huckabee, but refused to leave the Ben Gurion Airport complex.
“Men who identified themselves as airport security took our passports, hauled our executive producer into a side room and then demanded to know what we spoke to Ambassador Huckabee about,” the podcaster and ex Fox News host said in a statement to The Post.
“It was bizarre. We’re now out of the country.”
Huckabee rejected Carlson’s claims and wrote that “EVERYONE who comes in/out of Israel (every country for that matter) has passports checked & routinely asked security questions.”
The ambassador also shared a statement from the Israel Airports Authority denying all accusations that Carlson’s “entourage” were “denied, delayed, or interrogated.”
“Mr. Carlson and his party were politely asked a few routine questions, in accordance with standard procedures applied to many travelers. The conversation took place in a separate room within the VIP lounge solely to protect their privacy and to avoid conducting such a discussion in public,” the IAA wrote.
When he arrived, Carlson posted a picture of himself and his business partner, Neil Patel, in front of the Ben Gurion Airport, captioned “Greetings from Israel.”
Carlson, 56, has veered sharply into bashing Israel since he was pushed out of Fox News in 2023. --->READ MORE HERE
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