Tucker Carlson has said he is 'tormented' by his past support for Donald Trump, apologising for 'misleading people' as the rift between the conservative podcaster and the US president deepens over the war in Iran.
In an extraordinary mea culpa on his show, Carlson told his brother Buckley - a former Trump speechwriter - that he and other supporters were 'implicated' in the president's return to power. He described Trump's language on Iran as 'vile on every level' and said he accepted personal responsibility.
The comments follow a stinging personal attack by Trump, who recently called Carlson 'a Low IQ person' on social media. The president also threatened to list good and bad Maga supporters.
Carlson was a prominent supporter of Trump during the 2024 election, campaigning with him in Arizona five days before the vote and praising him at the Republican National Convention. Previously, he had referred to Trump's 'strange charisma' in 2016 and extolled his 'America first' agenda.
However, the relationship has frayed. Carlson was fired from Fox News after privately calling Trump's first presidency a 'disaster' and saying 'I hate him passionately'. He has also questioned whether Trump could be 'the antichrist' after the president mocked the Pope and shared an AI image of himself as Jesus.
Carlson's latest remarks come as he continues to criticise the Iran war, insisting Trump had no plan for it. He called for a 'moment to wrestle with our own consciences'.
