Tucker Carlson Slams Trump as Israel's Puppet, Calls Him a Traitor to America: 'If Vance Were President, We Wouldn't Be at War'

American conservative opinion leader and former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson recently gave an exclusive interview to Bloomberg, launching a fierce attack on Donald Trump, whom he once fully supported. Carlson bluntly accused Trump of 'betraying' America in foreign policy, allowing Israel to dictate U.S. actions and dragging the country into a war with Iran that damages national dignity and strength. He openly endorsed Vice President JD Vance, emphasizing that under Vance’s leadership, the U.S. would never have entered this war.

The interview sent shockwaves amid renewed U.S.-Iran tensions. In a rare move, White House officials swiftly issued a statement strongly rebutting Carlson’s accusations, asserting that Israel is America’s strongest ally and that President Trump 'is not controlled by any leader or nation.'

Carlson labeled Trump 'extremely weak.' As a key ally during Trump’s re-election campaign and first year in office, Carlson admitted that publicly breaking with Trump was 'emotionally painful,' having defended the Republican Party for 35 years. However, the U.S. military’s decision to intervene in the Iran conflict became the final straw. Carlson revealed he had directly opposed Trump’s actions, to no avail: 'Trump allows the U.S. government to be completely manipulated by a small Middle Eastern country, causing immense harm to America.'

Although Trump unilaterally declared an end to a ceasefire and launched massive airstrikes on Iranian targets—decisions seemingly made without Israeli involvement—Bloomberg questioned whether Trump, as the elected leader of the world’s sole superpower, shouldn’t bear full responsibility. Was Carlson overstating Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s influence? Carlson responded: 'Trump is not the most powerful person in the world. A major part of a leader’s duty is to resist external pressure. He failed to do so, which makes him weak. Strong leaders bring peace, but he cannot restore it.'

Carlson denied Netanyahu holds more influence than Trump. When asked who the world’s most powerful leader is, Carlson replied: 'America is not the only superpower. Our strength is far weaker than many believed just four months ago. There are various forces in the world—China, international business, global capital, and numerous Israeli agents within the U.S. who fund most American election campaigns to align U.S. foreign policy with Israel’s.'

Carlson emphasized that while the U.S. president holds power, he does not possess sovereignty—neither unlimited authority, full freedom of action, nor the ability to truly represent the people. Still, Carlson praised Trump as 'witty, charming, and insightful,' saying it’s enjoyable to spend time with him. 'No matter how much you dislike him or his policies, if you have dinner with Trump, you’ll have a great time—but I never expected it to come to this,' Carlson said. 'Trump is furious with me. They’re all angry and accusing me of anti-Semitism.'

Reflecting on the past, Bloomberg noted that Trump became president a decade ago, coinciding with Carlson’s prime-time Fox show. How did Carlson view Trump then? He admitted his career is deeply intertwined with Trump’s and acknowledged being a product of the Washington establishment. At the time, he saw everyone around him—even those he respected—irrationally hating Trump because he threatened the existing system. So, he sided with Trump, who challenged not only Democrats but also traditional Republicans.

Yet Carlson said this is precisely why Trump’s February decision to bomb Iran was so heartbreaking. The man who seemed to challenge the two-party system ended up joining bipartisan consensus on economic and foreign policy. Carlson lamented: 'If even Trump can’t fix this system, is there any hope of breaking the old framework?' Bloomberg noted Carlson must feel his influence, citing conservative figure Chris Rufo, who discussed critical race theory on Carlson’s show and hours later received a White House call—prompting the Trump administration to draft an executive order.

Carlson responded: 'I try not to dwell on it. I’ve seen power, and I don’t like it. Power corrupts people in profound ways—it can even make them evil. I don’t want that to happen to me.' He stressed that the moment you think, 'Now I’m in charge, I’m the main person,' is when your soul begins to rot. 'We don’t control history. We’re not God.'

On the rift that began last year: when the U.S. bombed Iran alongside Israel, Carlson criticized 'warmongers' and 'those recklessly advocating violence.' He told Trump, 'You’re being led by Israel. No one cares about Iran’s nuclear program. There are plenty of bad actors with nukes.' Carlson warned that Israel only wants to overthrow the Tehran regime and drag America into war. Trump replied, 'That’s not true,' but Carlson insists it is.

Furious at the time, Carlson and Trump arranged a White House meeting that never happened. They had a heated phone call. Carlson said: 'This is an insult to America. You’re the president. I don’t dislike Netanyahu, but that’s irrelevant. You can’t be led by a small country.' Trump called Carlson 'crazy.' Carlson emphasized to Bloomberg that killing Iran’s Supreme Leader and bombing a girls’ elementary school went too far and caused immense harm to America.

Regarding Netanyahu’s引用 of the biblical 'destruction of Amalek' during the conflict, Carlson condemned it as religious extremism and outright genocide, contrasting it with the Western principle of punishing only the guilty, not harming innocent civilians. 'I’m not a religious extremist—just an ordinary Christian. The crazy one isn’t me; I represent common sense. No matter how much you shout at me or call me a Nazi or anti-Semite, my views won’t change,' he said.

On accusations of genocide in Gaza, Carlson stressed: 'Everyone else on Earth recognizes this as genocide.' Even if the U.S. government doesn’t, it’s complicit and must share the blame. 'This genocide is happening. There is no excuse. We must do everything possible to stop it immediately.'

On Trump 2.0’s military actions in Yemen, Venezuela, Nigeria, Syria, Iraq, and Somalia, Carlson said he’s been closely watching and 'knows who’s pressuring Trump.' He believes determining whose advice to take, when to yield to pressure, and when to resist is precisely the president’s duty. Pressure comes not only from Israeli lobbying groups but also from donors of both parties, but Trump should know the line. He criticized Trump’s arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro: 'I think it’s insane, embarrassing, and immoral. You can’t just storm in, arrest a president, and say, “Your oil is mine.”'

On the collapse of U.S. domestic politics, Carlson predicted the Republican Party will be 'severely punished' by voters in the upcoming midterm elections for blindly entering this war that causes public suffering. But even then, America won’t improve, as no political leader currently represents the majority of Americans. With extreme economic imbalance, youth in crisis, declining life expectancy, and a vanishing middle class, no leader is addressing these issues or redirecting energy from foreign conflicts to improving citizens’ lives.

Carlson complained: 'Our leaders look down on us, take us for granted, use us, lie to us, and don’t care about us at all.' He noted Trump dragged America into war on February 28 without explaining why, yet no large-scale anti-war protests emerged. Why? Where was the Democratic Party? They could have mobilized a million people in the National Mall but didn’t—because they actually support the war. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer fully supports this war. He may disagree on details, but for years, he has wanted to represent Israel