Tucker Carlson slams Evangelical backing for Israel, exposes rift in America's Right

Washington, DC — Leading conservative commentator Tucker Carlson's latest interview has exposed widening cracks within America's right-wing movement.

In a two-hour conversation, Carlson sat down with Nick Fuentes, top far-right influencer and head of the "Groyper" movement (critiques of establishment conservatism), for a sweeping discussion that touched on theology, identity, and US foreign policy.

The most striking exchanges came when Carlson turned his fire on Christian Zionism, calling it "a dangerous heresy within Christianity" and "a brain virus."

"I despise Christian Zionists more than anyone else on earth," the conservative host said.

"If you wake up in the morning and decide that your Christian faith means you have to support whatever the Israeli government does, that's not Christianity — that's something else."

Fuentes, who has long argued against US support for Israel, agreed. The pair's shared disdain for what they view as an alliance between evangelicals and Israel marks a public break with a doctrine that has defined Republican foreign policy for decades.

Carlson accused prominent conservatives of allowing loyalty to Israel to override American interests.

He named Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz, John Bolton, Karl Rove, and George W. Bush as examples of figures who, in his view, "drag America into endless wars for Israel."

The interview drew more than 10 million views in its first 24 hours on X and YouTube.

Clips of Carlson denouncing Christian Zionism spread rapidly, igniting arguments across social media.

Huckabee, who serves as the US ambassador to Israel, responded on X: "Wasn’t aware that Tucker despises me. I do get that a lot from people not familiar with the Bible or history. Somehow I will survive the animosity."

Senator Cruz was more blunt: "It’s remarkable, and sad, watching Tucker turn into Nick Fuentes."

Both men have long defended biblical Zionism as central to their faith and to US policy.

Cruz, in a June exchange with Carlson, cited Genesis 12:3 — "Those who bless Israel will be blessed"— to justify continued support.

Distortion of faith

Carlson's interview with Fuentes has unsettled many within the Republican establishment.

Conservative radio host Barry Markson was quick to call Fuentes “a rabid bigot”.

For others, however, the interview struck a chord. Online accounts aligned with the isolationist right hailed it as a long-overdue challenge to "neocon" foreign policy.

On X, the hashtag #TuckerFuentes trended across the US, dominated by posts from accounts that are anti-interventionist. Tucker Carlson Interviews Nick Fuentes, Slams Christian Zionism as GOP Heresy, also trended on X in the US.

The conversation also revisited past tensions between Carlson and Fuentes. Carlson apologised for criticising Fuentes previously, admitting he had misjudged him.

Carlson's framing of Christian Zionism as a distortion of faith placed him closer to the America First movement’s younger wing than to the evangelical right that once formed his core audience.

"There are a ton of Orthodox who I know who are opposed to the state of Israel….They’re more Jewish than Dave Rubin, a lot more. And yet they oppose it," he added.

"Not a Western view"

The backlash was immediate. Pro-Israel commentators accused Carlson of mainstreaming anti-Semitic rhetoric, while supporters said he was exposing misplaced loyalties within the Republican Party.

Vox described the uproar as "a civil war on the right," arguing that the dispute reveals "a generational break between biblical conservatives and nationalist populists."

Beyond the headlines, the exchange reflects a deeper ideological split: older evangelicals who see Israel as central to their notion of patriotism, and a younger faction that sees it as betrayal.

One user on X put it starkly: "Populism just ended for some. What comes next is isolationism or chaos."

The implications reach far beyond social media.

Carlson remains one of the most-watched figures on the American right, and his alignment with Fuentes is expected to test the discourse within conservative politics.

His remarks on Gaza made clear that his challenge to the pro-Israel consensus was not abstract but rooted in a broader moral argument about the double standards on human life.

Carlson concluded, "One of the reasons that I’m mad about Gaza is because the Israeli position is everyone who lives in Gaza is a terrorist because of how they were born, including the women and the children. That's not a Western view."