Updated
Jun 18, 2025 -
Politics
& Policy
Ted Cruz
and Tucker Carlson's blowup exposes MAGA's divide on war with Iran
Sareen
Habeshian
https://www.axios.com/2025/06/18/ted-cruz-tucker-carlson-iran-interview
Sen. Ted
Cruz (R-Tex.) and conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson got into a
contentious argument over America's role in the escalating war between Israel
and Iran during an interview released Wednesday.
The big
picture: While the Trump administration has denied U.S. involvement in Israel's
offensive operations, the prospect of America joining Israel's attacks has
driven a wedge between the isolationist and pro-Israel wings of the MAGA
coalition.
The
conversation soured when Cruz claimed "we are carrying out military
strikes today."
Pressed
by Carlson on whether it's the U.S. or Israel leading the strikes, Cruz said
the U.S. was "supporting" Israel.
"This
is high stakes," Carlson responded. "You're a senator. If you're
saying the United States government is at war with Iran right now, people are
listening.
Zoom in:
There were a number of confrontations between the two during the two-hour long
interview on Carlson's show. Here are a few:
Carlson
grills Cruz on Iran
The
exchange ignited when Carlson asked the senator how many people live in Iran.
Cruz didn't know the answer.
"You
don't know the population of the country you seek to topple?" Carlson
asked, adding, "How could you not know that?"
Cruz shot
back, "I don't sit around memorizing population tables."
Carlson
appeared to be getting frustrated, saying, "Well it's kind of relevant
because you're calling for the overthrow of the government."
The host
then asked Cruz about the ethnic breakdown of Iran. After pausing, the senator
said, "They are Persians and predominantly Shia."
Carlson
interjected to ask, "What percent?"
The pair
began yelling over one another, with Carlson saying, "You don't know
anything about Iran," adding, "You're a senator who is calling for
the overthrow of the government and you don't know anything about the
country!"
State of
play: After the interview aired, Cruz shared a meme of Carlson asking Luke
Skywalker of Star Wars what the population of the Death Star is, apparently
mocking the question he was asked about Iran's population count.
"Oh,
I'm an anti-Semite now"
The pair
sparred over the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a pro-Israel
lobbying group.
"Are
AIPAC's goals shaped by the goals of the Israeli government?" Carlson
asked. "If you say no, I think we both know that's not true."
Cruz
responded, "Does Israel direct AIPAC? No, they're not lobbying on behalf
of them. Do they care about them? Yes."
Carlson
shot back, "What you're now describing, in a very defensive way, I will
say, is foreign influence over our politics."
Cruz then
quipped, "By the way, Tucker, it's a very weird thing, the obsession with
Israel."
What he's
saying: "Oh, I'm an anti-Semite now," Carlson said sarcastically.
"You're trying to derail my questions by calling me an anti-Semite."
Cruz
said, "I did not" before later adding, "If you're not an
anti-Semite, give me another reason why the obsession is Israel."
The show
host said, "I don't see a lawmaker's job as defending the interests of a
foreign government," adding, "That's my position. That does not make
me an anti-Semite, and shame on you for suggesting otherwise."
Carlson
questions Iranian plot to assassinate Trump
Carlson
also questioned an Iranian plot to assassinate President Trump.
Cruz said
there were also Iranian hitmen hired to kill Mike Pompeo, who was secretary of
State and CIA director in the first Trump administration; John Bolton, Trump's
former national security adviser; and Brian Hook, who was Trump's Iran envoy.
Despite
the threats, Trump ended federal security protections for Pompeo and Bolton.
Carlson
repeatedly pressed Cruz for evidence of the threats on Trump's life.
"We
know that it's true because we have been told that by the military and our
intelligence community for the last two years," the senator said. Pressed
further, he added that the U.S. has not apprehended an Iranian hitman trying to
kill Trump but "we know that Iran is trying to do so."
Carlson
on multiple occasions questioned why the senator is not calling for military
action against Iran if they're trying to kill the president.
"I
don't think they're very effective," Cruz said.
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