Tucker Carlson knows a thing or two about stirring up controversy.
But even so, his ongoing feud with fellow members of the Republican Party — and critics who have suggested he’s antisemitic — has been striking. This week it boiled over on one of the nation’s most popular podcasts, as a schism over the Charlie Kirk assassination continued to aggravate an already rattled Trumpworld coalition.
Indeed, Mr. Carlson’s broadsides were just the latest evidence of a deepening divide in Republican politics. And he has been at the center of many of those fights, with trolling, ad hominem attacks, and accusations of betrayal — including by President Trump — riddling airwaves and social media feeds, with no signs of stopping.
In his appearance on “This Past Weekend with Theo Von,” posted on Tuesday, Mr. Carlson — a longtime ally of the president — offered searing personal attacks on Bari Weiss, the newly appointed head of CBS News, and the billionaire Bill Ackman, a major supporter of the president, denigrating their intelligence and qualifications, while also questioning the F.BI.’s investigation of Mr. Kirk’s murder.
Mr. Carlson pointedly suggested that the leadership of the country itself was mediocre and malignant.
“The most depressing thing about the United States in 2025 is that we’re led not just by bad people, but by unimpressive, dumb, totally noncreative people,” Mr. Carlson said.
Mr. Carlson, a former Fox News host who is now a podcaster, has fought with conservatives before, but the tension has intensified since late October, when he interviewed Nick Fuentes, a far right agitator who has praised Hitler and repeatedly made antisemitic and sexist remarks. In the interview, Mr. Carlson offered a largely uncritical ear.
Criticism from other Republicans rolled in, including from Ben Shapiro, a prominent podcaster who is an Orthodox Jew, who accused Mr. Carlson of “normalizing Nazism,” while calling him “an intellectual coward, a dishonest interlocutor, and a terrible friend.”
Attacks on Mr. Carlson’s allegiances and beliefs percolated anew this week, after he announced he was buying a home in Qatar while conducting another genial sit-down, in that country, with its prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani. The Middle East country is an American ally but has been accused by Israel of supporting Hamas.
That chat — and the planned real estate purchase — was sharply criticized by other MAGA leaders, including Laura Loomer, an anti-Muslim commentator and a powerful informal Trump adviser, who called Mr. Carlson “Tucker Qatarlson.”
Mr. Carlson’s frequent foil, Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, echoed that, posting an altered photo of the host with his legs akimbo and above his head and another comment about oral sex.
At the same time, battle lines have also been deepening over the investigation of Mr. Kirk’s murder in September, which has been the subject of conspiracy theories, including those spread by Candace Owens, another prominent right-wing podcaster, who speculated about whether the shooter acted alone.
Those theories have prompted Mr. Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, to speak out this week condemning such speculation.
“Stop. That’s it. That’s all I have to say. Stop,” Ms. Kirk said in an interview with Ms. Weiss that will be aired on CBS on Saturday night.
On Mr. Von’s show, Mr. Carlson, whose own show has featured conspiracy theories about everything from 9/11 to chemtrails, also waded into this debate, expressing affection for Ms. Owens and said he didn’t “understand the official story at all.”
He cautioned that he wasn’t “alleging anything,” but added that “I just don’t have a ton of confidence in the F.B.I. or the men who run it,” noting, for instance, “leaders of the F.B.I. are on Twitter,” an apparent swipe at F.B.I. director Kash Patel, who is often online.
On Wednesday, after Mr. Von’s show was posted, Mr. Carlson went back online to seemingly further explain his comments on Mr. Von’s show, saying that he knew and loved Charlie and Erika Kirk, and had not meant to insinuate that the F.B.I. was somehow involved in a cover-up or the assassination itself.
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But he doubled down on his assertion that “we should not necessarily trust the F.B.I.”
On Mr. Von’s show, Mr. Carlson characterized his remarks as a commitment “to tell the truth, no matter what.” But some sensed a professional calculation.
“He is making every desperate attempt to stay relevant,” said Susan Del Percio, a Republican consultant, adding, “Even if it means becoming a caricature of himself.”
Mr. Carlson’s comments about Ms. Weiss came after Mr. Von, a folksy host with a credulous demeanor, showed a clip of Ms. Weiss suggesting Mr. Carlson was “anti-American and anti-Jewish,” sentiments that have also been expressed by commentators in The Free Press, the “anti-woke” media company she founded.
Mr. Carlson shot back, calling Ms. Weiss “an idiot,” mendacious, and unqualified for her post.
“In no fair system, in no ‘meritocracy’ would Bari Weiss rise above secretary,” Mr. Carlson said, adding, “There is no world in which Bari Weiss would rise to the top of a news network except a rigged world.”
Reached on Thursday, Ms. Weiss — whose appointment at CBS was praised by Mr. Trump — declined to comment on Mr. Carlson’s remarks.
Mr. Carlson had also tangled with Mr. Ackman before, suggesting the billionaire was part of a class of “useless people who have no actual skills” in an appearance at a Turning Point USA event in July. On Mr. Von’s show, Mr. Carlson continued his attacks, saying Mr. Ackman was “kind of dumb” and calling his success “almost a humiliation exercise.”
In a post on X on Wednesday night, Mr. Ackman shot back, accusing Mr. Carlson of defaming him in the past and saying he “does not know me.”
“Tucker is an ignorant POS who has lost his soul,” Mr. Ackman said, using a reference to excrement.
That sort of crass back-and-forth was also evidenced on Mr. Von’s show, which included below-the-belt discussions of erectile dysfunction and unconventional methods of nicotine delivery. But politics and the fractures on the right — and trust in American institutions — were a constant conversational draw.
Mr. Carlson’s seeming alienation extended to praising several of Mr. Trump’s most avid Republican opponents in Congress — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia and Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky — calling them two of the “very few honest members of Congress,” and lauding their sincerity.
Mr. Carlson also seemingly faulted the president for his approach to Israel and that country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu: “I love Trump personally. I still love Trump personally. But it was like that whole election was about ‘We’ve had enough of this.’”
The White House did not return requests for comment.
Mr. Carlson, who is an Episcopalian and evinces a country-club confidence, also repeatedly denied that he was antisemitic during his appearance on Mr. Von’s show — “I’m totally anti-Nazi. I’m totally anti-hate,” he said — adding that he was being labeled a Nazi to silence his opinions.
On this point, Mr. Von jokingly agreed. “If you were a Nazi, you would have a tank or something,” he said. “You would not be in loafers.”
Jesse McKinley is a Times reporter covering politics, pop culture, lifestyle and the confluence of all three.
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