Israel briefly 'detained' US conservative commentator Tucker Carlson
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Israel briefly 'detained' US conservative commentator Tucker Carlson")
US political commentator Tucker Carlson speaks during the public memorial service for right-wing activist Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on September 21, 2025. Photograph: (AFP)
Tucker Carlson was briefly detained at Ben Gurion Airport after interviewing US Ambassador Mike Huckabee. Israel denies harassment claims.
The conservative commentator and a former Fox News anchor, Tucker Carlson, along with his crew, was briefly detained at the Ben Gurion airport after his interview with Mike Huckabee, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel. The US embassy to Israel denied these claims, arguing that Carlson was subjected to the routine procedures. Former Israeli PM Naftali Bennett called Tucker Carlson a “chicken.”
“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,” said Carlson as reported by the British tabloid Daily Mail.
Carlson and his entourage are out of Israel. Carlson travelled to Israel in his private aircraft and stayed for around 180 minutes at the Ben Gurion airport. Ambassador Mike Huckabee has said that Carlson and his team, like everyone else, got their passport checked and had to answer security questions.
Former Israeli PM Naftali Bennett called Carlson a “phoney”. “Tucker Carlson is a chicken—. The guy who’s been spouting lies about Israel for the past two years, landed today at Ben Gurion airport, took a quick picture in the logistics zone, tweeted it to pretend he’s actually IN Israel (so he can later claim that he’s a serious reporter who toured Israel), didn’t even step foot in country, then made up a story that he’s being supposedly harassed by our security (didn’t happen), whined about it, got back into the private jet and flew off,” said Naftali Bennett.
Carlson was asked by Trump to tone down on Israel
According to former Fox Business anchor Melissa Francis, Trump has urged Carlson to “turn down the temperature” on Israel. The rift between the US right has widened, especially regarding the US foreign policy and its support of the genocide in Palestine. Tucker Carlson has had guests on his podcast who have been critical of Israel, and he has been very outspoken against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. From Charlie Kirk, Candace Ownes to, Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Thomas Massie, all of them have vocally opposed the Netanyahu government. Before Charlie Kirk was killed in Utah, he was pressured by Bill Ackman, a Zionist, against hosting Tucker Carlson at Turning Point USA. Marjorie Taylor Greene famously said she left her seat at the US House of Representatives because she did not want to be the “next Charlie Kirk”. “President Trump is telling everyone, including Tucker, ‘Let’s take this down,’” said Melissa.
