The US president has expelled the conservative commentator over his criticism of the Iran war
Donald Trump shakes hands with Tucker Carlson on October 31, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. © Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
US
President Donald Trump has expelled prominent conservative talk show
host Tucker Carlson from his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement,
saying Carlson has “lost his way.”
The breaking point between the two came over the US-Israeli attack on Iran, which Carlson has characterized as “absolutely disgusting and evil.”
“Tucker has lost his way. I knew that a long time ago, and he’s not MAGA,” Trump said in an interview with ABC News on Thursday.
“MAGA is saving our country. MAGA is making our country great again. MAGA is America first, and Tucker is none of those things,” the US president added.
During his 2024 election campaign, Trump vowed to avoid foreign interventions, promising to be a “peace president,” and assuring supporters he was “not going to start a war, I’m going to stop wars.” This became a core MAGA campaign theme.
Carlson, the former Fox News host, was given a prime speaking slot at
the Republican National Convention in 2024 and interviewed Trump during
his campaign. Now he runs the Tucker Carlson Network, an online
streaming platform which he has increasingly used to advocate for a
non-interventionist foreign policy.
His content has also been used
by RT, and he has conducted high-profile interviews with Russian
President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in
Moscow.
Last June, Trump called Carlson “kooky” on Truth Social after the journalist criticized those urging military action against the Islamic Republic.
Trump
has recently lost another prominent ally – former Congresswoman
Marjorie Taylor Greene. Their relationship soured late last year over
the release of documents related to the deceased sex offender Jeffrey
Epstein. Greene accused Trump of preventing the files’ disclosure and
pushed for full transparency.
Trump in turn called her “wacky” and a “ranting lunatic,” leading to Greene’s resignation from Congress in January.
The feud has escalated further over US military strikes on Iran, with Greene questioning Trump’s “mental state” and accusing his administration of being “sick f*cking liars” for pursuing what she sees as a betrayal of the president's “no more foreign wars” campaign promise.