Tucker Carlson is under fire for hyping President Donald Trump’s primetime speech to the nation as an announcement of war only for the president to rattle off stale talking points and whine for 18 minutes.
The former Fox News host turned podcaster, known for peddling conspiracy theories, appeared on Judge Andrew Napolitano’s Judging Freedom podcast ahead of Trump’s speech on Wednesday, where he claimed that trusted sources had tipped him off to an explosive announcement coming in the speech.
“Here’s what I know so far, which is that members of Congress were briefed yesterday that a war is coming, and it’ll be announced in the address to the nation tonight at nine o’clock by the president,” Carlson said. “Who knows, by the way, if that will actually happen—I don’t know, and I never want to overstate what I know, which is pretty limited in general—but a member of Congress told me that this morning. So that’s what I know.”
Trump announced no such plans and didn’t even come close to it. Instead, he used the speech to frantically try to sell Americans on the idea that the economy is in good shape, and even if it isn’t, it is entirely his predecessor Joe Biden’s fault.
There have been growing concerns that Trump’s escalating pressure campaign against Venezuela—including frequent targeting of alleged drug-smuggling boats and the blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers—could be a precursor to launching an all-out war.
Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, even let slip to Vanity Fair that the president plans on “blowing boats up” suspected of carrying Venezuelan drug smugglers until the country’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, “cries uncle,” hinting at a possible push for regime change.
Carlson, after claiming Trump’s speech would decisively put an end to speculation about war with Venezuela, said he hoped his prediction would not turn out to be true, arguing that there has never been a “regime change effort that’s benefited the United States” dating back several decades.
“And if there is, tell me what it is. I just don’t see any evidence of that. It all seems like a net loss for us,” Carlson said.
During his Fox News heyday, Carlson was so influential within Trump’s orbit that he was credited with helping to talk Trump down from entering a war with Iran. In January 2020, shortly after Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was killed in U.S. airstrikes authorized by Trump, Carlson urged the administration on air to avoid further escalation if Iran retaliated, asking, “Who’s actually benefiting from this?”
Shortly afterward, Trump said the U.S. would not respond to Iran’s retaliatory attacks at U.S. bases in Iraq, with Carlson’s objection to such a move widely believed to have played a part in his decision, according to Associated Press.
This time around, however, Carlson’s foreign policy input was roundly mocked for being astonishingly out of touch amid a wider feud in the world of MAGA podcasters.
“So Tucker lied,” far-right podcaster Nick Fuentes posted on X.
Far-right influencer Laura Loomer added: “Tucker Qatarlson takes another L!”
The Daily Beast has contacted Carlson for comment.
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