Tucker Carlson Married Conspiracy with Antisemitism - Giving comfort to America’s enemies is a bridge too far

By: Joseph Puder

 Friday, March 27, 2026

The fact that Tucker Carlson has shown himself to be an antisemite is clear, but that he gives comfort to America’s enemies, is a bridge too far.  In doing so, Carlson has married conspiracy theories with antisemitism.

Whether it was spurred on by his dismissal from Fox News or perhaps something deeper in his past, Carlson’s antisemitism can be analyzed by the criteria established by Natan Sharansky, the famous Soviet dissident and human rights activist, who established the “3D Test” in order to distinguish between legitimate criticism of Israel and antisemitism.

The test consists of three benchmarks:

*Delegitimization: Denying the Jewish people's right to self-determination.

*Demonization: Making false and/or exaggerated claims about Israel.

*Double Standards: Applying selective criticism of Israel for behavior not expected of other democratic nations.

In an Economist interview Carlson charged that Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu, who visited President Trump seven times, was able to convince him to go to war against Iran. Carlson’s allegation assumes that President Trump can be manipulated because he has no mind of his own or that President Trump was willing to subvert American interests. Moreover, Carlson deliberately ignored the recent visits to the White House by the Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, who was hosted by President Trump at a private dinner during one of his four visits. The Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammad Bin Salman, was also a recent White House visitor. And, on September 25, 2025, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with President Donald Trump at the White House.

All of the above-mentioned visitors were attempting to sway Trump’s decision on Iran.  Netanyahu much like the Qatari PM, the Saudi Crown Prince, and the Turkish president, presented arguments for the merits and pitfalls regarding U.S. actions pertaining to Iran. Carlson, however, sees only Israel as a bad influence on Trump; one trying to divert him from American interests. His tunnel vision testifies to a double standard.

Like other antisemites in this crowded field, Carlson has blamed the Israel lobby for driving the U.S. into a war with Iran. Yet, he has deliberately ignored the much wealthier and more powerful lobbies of Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Another example of a double standard. Lest it be forgotten that Israel is a loyal ally to the U.S. while Qatar and Saudi Arabia, are not exactly aligned with U.S. values and interests.

Carlson has accused Israel of illegitimately attacking Hezbollah in Lebanon and has ignored Israel’s right of self-defense following Hamas’ unprovoked massacre on October 7, 2023, that claimed the lives of 1200 Israelis, mostly civilians. Hezbollah’s attacked Israel in violation of the U. S. brokered cease-fire agreement.  Hezbollah’s actions were subsequently condemned by the Lebanese government. Carlson’s accusations demonize Israel by contorting the situation.

Carlson inferred in the Economist interview that Trump betrayed his MAGA promises by attacking Iran. He has selectively forgotten that Trump sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to negotiate with the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran and patiently awaited the opportunity to strike a deal that would prevent the radical theocratic regime from advancing the 440.9 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium purity to 90% needed to make nuclear bombs. In a surprise disclosure, the Iranians told U.S. envoy Witkoff that they could produce “11 nuclear bombs” within days.  The Iranians rejected any and all of America’s terms for a negotiated settlement.

If Britain and France would have acted in 1936 against Hitler when he occupied the Rhineland, WWII could have been prevented. Trump has taken the current actions against Iran in order to thwart a nuclear Iran with long-range missiles capable of reaching the U.S.

Trump was no more eager to wage war than Carlson. In fact, Trump sought a legacy of a peacemaker. He pursued a peace deal between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, Thailand and Cambodia, Israel and Hamas (ceasefire), Armenia and Azerbaijan, expansion of the Abraham Accords, and working to bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table.

It is Carlson and his ilk who have betrayed President Trump. They have ignored 47 years of war waged against the U.S. by the Islamic Republic of Iran, while previous administrations largely ignored that reality.

Iranians seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and kept American diplomats’ hostage for 444 days – an unmistakable declaration of war on the U.S.

The Iranian backed targeting of American Marines in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983, which killed 241 Marines, was also an act of war.  As was the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. Iran subcontracted its proxy Hezbollah to do its bidding. The bombing of Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia on June 25, 1996, was another Iranian initiated and funded attack on America and Americans. A  Hezbollah terrorist truck bomb exploded near the Khobar Towers housing complex in Dhahran killing 19 U.S. Airmen and injuring nearly 500 people.

Explosively formed penetrators (EFPs) killed 196 American soldiers in Iraq over a five-and-a-half-year period, 2006-2011, according to recently declassified Pentagon documents, which U.S. officials say were supplied by Iran’s elite Quds Force.

In 2024, U.S. intelligence revealed that the Islamic Republic of Iran planned to assassinate Donald Trump during the presidential campaign.  That same year, the Ayatollah’s regime targeted, both directly and through Iraqi Shiite proxies, U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria. Repeated attacks, including a rocket attack on the al-Asad Air Base in Iraq, injured five U.S. soldiers. And, from October 2023 to the end of 2024, attacks by Iran and its proxies killed and wounded at least 145 U.S. personnel on Middle Eastern bases.

Carlson actions have provided significant comfort to America’s enemies and have aroused suspicions with the CIA. The New Arab reported on March 16, 2026, that Tucker Carlson “claims that CIA is after him for speaking to Iranian officials.” Carlson has criticized U.S. military actions against Iran; has labeled attacks on Iran as “absolutely disgusting and evil” and, has questioned the value of such conflicts for the United States. A Jerusalem Post headline on February 6, 2026, reads, “Tucker Carlson is normalizing Iran’s regime at the worst possible time.”

Carlson is not an American patriot.  And, considering his narrow, isolationist views, one can conjecture that he would have insisted the U.S. not fight Nazi Germany because it might help the Jews.