Tucker Carlson hit back hard against President Donald Trump on Friday, April 10, using unusually blunt language to describe his feelings toward the man he once supported enthusiastically.
In an interview with Newsmax, Carlson said he still likes Trump but pities him in striking terms.
“I’ve always liked Trump and still feel sorry for him, as I do for all slaves,” Carlson said as reported by Newsmax’s chief Washington correspondent James Rosen.
When pressed for more, he added: “He’s hemmed in by other forces. He can’t make his own decisions. It’s awful to watch.”
The comment came one day after Trump unloaded on Carlson and several other prominent conservative voices in a lengthy Truth Social post.
Trump targets prominent conservative voices opposed to Iran-U.S. war.
The president lashed out at Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones, accusing them of opposing his administration’s military actions against Iran because they have “low IQs.”
Trump wrote that the group thinks it is “wonderful for Iran, the Number One State Sponsor of Terror, to have a Nuclear Weapon.”
He went further, even calling them “stupid people” who know it, as do their families and everyone else, and urged people to examine their records.
The feud has deepened a growing split on the right over U.S. involvement in the Iran conflict.
Carlson and others have criticized the escalation, arguing it risks dragging America into another costly Middle East war and breaking from Trump’s past promises to avoid endless foreign entanglements.
Earlier on Friday, Carlson laid out his thinking in a written “morning note” posted on his website. He claimed the Israeli government has a long history of blackmailing U.S. presidents, citing an old allegation involving Bill Clinton and spy Jonathan Pollard.
Is Israel blackmailing Trump?
Carlson stopped short of saying Israel is definitely blackmailing Trump now, but he suggested the possibility is worth considering given the pressure Trump appears to be under.
“Establishment media never reports this, but the Israeli government has a storied history of blackmailing U.S. presidents,” Carlson wrote. He added that Israel’s current priority seems to be keeping the operation against Iran going.
Rather than fire back with insults, Carlson said he wanted to extend some grace to the president. He described Trump as under such intense pressure that he abandoned campaign promises and became the kind of politician he once campaigned against.
“He would not have let that happen unless his personal risks were really high,” Carlson wrote. “We hope he overcomes.”
Trump entered office for his second term, promising to put America first and steer clear of unnecessary wars. Now, with military action underway against Iran, some of his loudest former supporters on the right see him shifting course.
Carson’s take on policies after he left Fox News.
Carlson has built much of his post-Fox career on questioning foreign policy hawks and warning against getting pulled into conflicts that do not directly serve U.S. interests.
His latest remarks extend that line, describing the president not as a betrayer but as someone possibly trapped by powerful outside influences.
The back-and-forth emerged just as tensions over Iran dominated headlines, with debates raging about whether the U.S. should press further or seek a quicker off-ramp.
The “slaves” comment elicited strong reactions on social media, with some netizens calling it disrespectful. Others, however, saw it as an honest expression of disappointment from a longtime admirer.
The phrasing is provocative by design, and Carlson’s style of using strong metaphors to drive home points about power and control in Washington.
The former Fox News host maintains affection for Trump but clearly believes the president is not fully steering his own ship on foreign policy.
Trump, meanwhile, has dismissed his critics as low-IQ troublemakers out of step with what he calls winning and strength.
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