There is an old human test of character that asks whether a person can say the words 'I was wrong' and survive the saying. Tucker Carlson, who spent years as one of the loudest voices defending Donald Trump, has now tried to pass that test in public, telling The New York Times that he misled people when he promised the country would stay out of a regime-change war in Iran. Across an interview that wandered from the Antichrist to Charlie Kirk's murder, his admissions read as the reckonings of a man who has begun to weigh the cost of loyalty against the cost of being honest.
Tucker Carlson Says He Was Wrong About Trump and Iran, Regrets Fuentes Interview
Carlson said many people in Trump's orbit have gone to prison, lost jobs, been publicly shamed, or gotten cancer, though he gave no specific cases.
"And here we are in the middle of a regime-change war in Iran... so I'm sorry."
Mark
Why does this interview matter beyond the headlines about a feud?
Mimi
Because Carlson was one of Trump's most visible defenders for ten years. When he says he promised Trump would avoid a regime-change war with Iran and was wrong, that's a prominent ally publicly breaking over policy.
Luke
Worth noting this is Carlson's own account of what he promised and why he's apologizing. The reporting records his words; it doesn't independently assess the war.
Mark
What about the Antichrist exchange?
Mimi
He denied saying it, and the Times pointed to footage where he asked, 'Could this be the Antichrist?' He said he may have noted that some were asking.
Luke
So there's a real dispute over characterization, not over the footage. The footage exists. Whether a question counts as saying it is his argument to make.
Mark
And the claim about people around Trump being hurt?
Mimi
He listed prison, unemployability, public shaming and cancer. It's central to his doubt about whether the country is improving.
Luke
He named no cases, and linking cancer to proximity to Trump is an assertion with nothing offered under it. Same with the FBI claim about Charlie Kirk's investigation: he says it was short-circuited, but the source gives no evidence.
Mark
Anything about his own role?
Mimi
He regrets the Fuentes interview, saying it distracted from Iran and cost him a month of angry calls.
O Pulso
- Carlson admits he was wrong to promise Trump would keep America out of a regime-change war with Iran, and that war is now underway.
- His denials about calling Trump the 'Antichrist' collide with footage the New York Times says shows him asking that very question.
- He calls his Nick Fuentes interview a mistake that cost him a month of being branded a Nazi, and he admits he was rude to Senator Ted Cruz.
- He questions how the FBI handled the murder investigation of Charlie Kirk, a claim offered without evidence that could draw fresh scrutiny.
- Carlson says people around Trump have faced prison, lost jobs, public shame, or cancer, though he names no one, leaving his concerns unsettled.
There is an old human test of character that asks whether a person can say the words 'I was wrong' and survive the saying. Tucker Carlson, who spent years as one of the loudest voices defending Donald Trump, has now tried to pass that test in public, telling The New York Times that he misled people when he promised the country would stay out of a regime-change war in Iran. Across an interview that wandered from the Antichrist to Charlie Kirk's murder, his admissions read as the reckonings of a man who has begun to weigh the cost of loyalty against the cost of being honest.
In a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times, published Saturday, Tucker Carlson said something he rarely says in public: that he was wrong. The subject was Donald Trump and the war in Iran. For a decade he defended Trump on Fox News, and he said he would likely do so again on issues where they agree. But he had assured people that Trump would keep the country out of another Iraq, and specifically out of a regime-change war with Iran. "And here we are in the middle of a regime-change war in Iran," he said, "so I'm sorry."
Carlson framed the admission as a matter of credibility: the price of entry to honest conversation is admitting when you are wrong. The interview ranged far beyond Iran. Pressed on past remarks about the "Antichrist," he repeatedly denied calling Trump that, even as the Times cited earlier footage of him asking, "Could this be the Antichrist?" He described Trump's "spellbinding" presence as dreamlike, and he floated a theory that Trump could legalize cannabis to make people more passive.
He also described a pattern of harm around the president: many people in Trump's orbit, he said, have gone to prison, lost work, been publicly shamed, or gotten cancer. He named no one. That unease, he suggested, feeds a larger doubt about whether the country is actually getting better.
He was blunt about his October interview with the far-right commentator Nick Fuentes: "I wish I hadn't done the Fuentes interview." It pulled attention from where the Iran war was heading, and he spent about a month fielding calls calling him a Nazi. He said it "didn't imperil my soul," and he admitted he had been impolite to Senator Ted Cruz and tried to apologize.
He turned, too, to Charlie Kirk's murder in September and to Erika Kirk, whom he said he has always loved. His deeper concern was the investigation, which he claimed the FBI short-circuited. "I'd like to know why," he said, though he offered no evidence in the portions reported here. That remark is the thread most likely to draw further scrutiny.
Carlson, once a fixture of cable news before Fox ousted him in 2023, now runs a digital media business and recently announced a book imprint. Whether these admissions mark a lasting break or a single moment of candor remains to be seen.
In a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times, published Saturday, Tucker Carlson said something he rarely says in public: that he was wrong. The subject was Donald Trump and the war in Iran, and Carlson put it plainly. He spent ten years defending Trump on Fox News, he said, and would probably do it again on the issues where they agree. But he had told people Trump would keep the country out of the next Iraq, and specifically out of a regime-change war with Iran. "And here we are in the middle of a regime-change war in Iran," he said, "so I'm sorry."
Carlson framed the admission as a matter of credibility. In his words, the ticket of admission to the conversation is admitting when you are wrong. He was explaining why he had earlier said he was sorry for misleading people.
The interview ranged well beyond Iran. Pressed on past remarks about the "Antichrist," Carlson repeatedly denied having called Trump that, saying "I have not said that." The Times pointed to earlier footage in which he asked, "Could this be the Antichrist?" Carlson answered that he did not know where the claim came from and that those words never left his lips, because he is not sure he fully understands what the Antichrist is, or whether there is only one. He allowed that he may have said some people were asking the question, but said he was not weighing in.
He was more expansive on what he called Trump's "spellbinding" presence. Spending a day with Trump, he said, is like being in a dreamland, something like smoking hash. He suggested the effect probably is literally a spell and that there may be a supernatural component to it. He also floated a theory that Trump could legalize cannabis to lower testosterone levels and make people more passive, adding, "Have some more benzos, it's fine. Because it's not fine, is the truth."
Carlson also described what he sees as a pattern of harm around the president. Many people in Trump's immediate orbit, he said, have gone to prison, become unemployable, been publicly shamed or gotten cancer. He did not name specific cases. That pattern, he said, has bothered him for years, and it feeds his larger doubt: Trump is saying things he agrees with, but people around him are getting hurt, and he does not know whether the country is actually getting better.
On his October interview with the far-right commentator Nick Fuentes, Carlson was blunt. "I wish I hadn't done the Fuentes interview," he said, calling it totally not worth it. He said it distracted from what he really wanted to discuss, where the Iran war was heading, and that he spent about a month fielding calls from people calling him a Nazi. He added that it "didn't imperil my soul." He also named one person he says he has been impolite with, Senator Ted Cruz, calling himself a jerk and saying he tried to apologize.
Carlson turned as well to Turning Point USA and Erika Kirk after Charlie Kirk's murder in September. He said he has always loved Erika Kirk. His broader concern, he said, is the investigation into the killing, which he claimed was short-circuited by the FBI. "I'd like to know why," he said. He offered no evidence for the claim in the portions of the interview reported here.
Carlson was a fixture of cable news for decades, with shows on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News, before Fox abruptly ousted him in 2023, shortly after the network settled its defamation suit with Dominion Voting Systems. Fox said the decision was unrelated. Since then he has built a business in digital media, and last month he announced a book imprint. His FBI remarks are the thread most likely to draw further scrutiny.
Citações Notáveis
I wish I hadn't done the Fuentes interview. It was totally not worth it.— Tucker Carlson, The New York Times
The ticket of admission to the conversation is admitting when you are wrong.— Tucker Carlson, The New York Times
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Politics & Governance