Conservative media star Tucker Carlson criticized Daily Wire editor emeritus Ben Shapiro and Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley for positions he said could potentially send more U.S. troops into the line of fire in foreign wars, saying their reckless warmongering endangers his children.
Carlson made the pointed remarks Tuesday during an interview with British podcaster Russell Brand.
“I’ve got four draft-age children, so if you’re playing recklessly, fast and loose with their lives, then I have a right to despise you,” he said. “And I do.”
The former Fox News star continued: “So if you’re Nikki Haley, who’s running for president, or Ben Shapiro or half the people I see on television casually mentioning the possibility of nuclear war or sending Americans to fight in the Middle East or in any way involving us in a war that has nothing to do with prosperity and peace at home — nothing, in other words, to do with us Americans — then I have a right to call you out and be really offended. Because it’s my family. They live here.”
Carlson said the irresponsible saber-rattling cavalierly being bandied about by armchair generals that could embroil his children in a war is not theoretical; it’s a realistic danger he draws the line at.
“It’s not a joke to me,” he said. “There’s nothing abstract about it. And that is the difference between what’s happening in the Middle East from what’s happening in Ukraine.”
“WE HAVE A RIGHT TO BE MAD!”
SOO it’s Tucker’s turn – he visited me in MY studio in an interview i’ve just released
Watch our full conversation now and tell me what you think👉 https://t.co/FMp7lag7pe pic.twitter.com/GLMAnucxXK
— Russell Brand (@rustyrockets) February 13, 2024
As an April profile in People noted, Carlson has three daughters and a son, all adults. He told Brand he previously didn’t think there was a possibility his own kids could become enmeshed in the latest Gaza conflict, but now he does, which is why he’s putting the kibosh on sending more U.S. troops to Israel.
Is Tucker right?
“Get some self-respect, I would say to my fellow Americans,” he advised. “Get a clear picture of what’s important — your children are important, that’s No. 1. And if they’re threatening your children, I don’t care what their justification is, they’re your enemy.”
Carlson, who has been attacked by commentators on both the left and the right as “anti-Semitic” for saying the U.S. should not plunge into yet another Middle East war, stressed the importance of free speech.
“If you can’t say what you think is true, then you’re not a citizen, you’re not a human being. You’re a slave,” he said.
Carlson said “with the rise of this war in the Middle East, you’re watching people on the right” accuse those who oppose ongoing U.S. involvement in foreign wars of promoting “hate speech.”
“I’m absolutely shocked by it,” he said. “I can’t even believe what I’m watching! And I can’t overstate my rage or my contempt for them.”
The U.S. established a permanent military base in Israel in 2017, in the Negev desert in the southern part of the country, as the Times of Israel reported at the time.
And in October 2023, the Defense Department deployed U.S. Special Forces to Israel, so it’s not as if there aren’t American forces there already.
As Mediaite noted, Carlson has been in a public disagreement with Shapiro over the U.S. response to the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel committed by Hamas terrorists. On Oct. 11, Mediaite reported, Shapiro accused Carlson of trying to “minimize” the severity of the assault.
Haley, meanwhile, has been much more vocal about support for Ukraine in its war against the almost-2-year-0ld Russian invasion than former President Donald Trump. In a campaign ad released Tuesday, she actually accused Trump of favoring a Russian victory in the war.
Tucker Carlson is among the few conservative pundits who aren’t afraid to speak out against more U.S. involvement in endless foreign wars.
To oppose sending more American soldiers to Israel does not make you an “anti-Semite.” You can support Israel and still oppose sending America’s sons to fight on the front lines in the Mideast.
As a reminder, Israel has received more foreign aid from the United States than any other country on Earth. The U.S. has given $300 billion in economic and military aid to Israel since 1946, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Opposing the deployment of U.S. troops to defend another country’s borders while our southern borders are invaded daily does not make you an “isolationist.”
A large amount of the illegal crossings in San Diego sector happen in Jacumba where there is a small gap in the wall that illegal immigrants pour through every day. (We shot this a couple weeks ago).
Inexplicably, the Biden admin has made no effort to fill or fix this small gap. pic.twitter.com/wqQRI917VU— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) February 13, 2024
🚨🇺🇸 2023 ILLEGAL MIGRATION GROWS 10X IN SEVEN YEARS
2024 SO FAR: 988,819
2023: 3,201,144
2022: 2,766,582
2021: 1,956,519
2020: 405,036
2019: 859,501
2018: 404,142
2017: 310,531Source: US Customs & Border Protectionpic.twitter.com/oLW6GyOLZr
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) February 13, 2024
The U.S. has troops in every corner of the world and is currently embroiled in 15 “shadow wars,” including Yemen, Russia, Syria, Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya and Afghanistan.
It’s laughable to suggest that keeping the U.S. from charging in another foreign war means it has become isolationist. The United States is currently buckling under the weight of crushing inflation, skyrocketing crime and daily border invasions.
Illegal immigrants have made the border in Lukeville, Arizona look like a giant homeless encampment in California.
This section of the border is part of a national park and there are fires and garbage everywhere.
This is absolutely shameful.pic.twitter.com/RsC3RAnUUi
— Jason Jones (@jonesville) December 6, 2023
America’s leaders should focus on getting their own house in order before “helping” a foreign nation. After all, that’s their job, right?
