Tucker Carlson recounted telling President Donald Trump not to go to war against Iran for myriad reasons. Trump responded he was correct, adding: “We all die anyway.” The remarks occurred during an interview where Carlson explained his break with Trump after having campaigned for him in 2024.
Carlson asserted that Trump’s Cabinet should have invoked the 25th Amendment and removed him when he threatened a nuclear attack on Iran. While Trump has never directly threatened such an attack, he has repeatedly called for “flattening” the country. Most recently, he stated he would “annihilate” Iran and send it to “hell.”
Speaking with NPR’s Steve Inskeep, Carlson recalled that Trump “meditated on” the Iraq War disaster for 20 years—a key plank in his 2016 campaign pledge to avoid foreign wars. The interview followed Carlson’s conversation with U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee, who claimed Israel has the right to seize parts of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Syria because God says so in the Bible.
Two days later, Carlson said he was in the Oval Office with Trump alone after Huckabee’s remarks. “He was annoyed that I had given Huckabee a hard time,” Carlson stated. He told Trump: “Your representative to this nation just called for rearranging the Middle East and allowing Israel to take parts of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Syria. Like, this is a diplomatic incident.”
Carlson then addressed Iran’s war, explaining: “I said, ‘This war is not about Iran’s nuclear program, which you told me and the world that you eliminated back in June.’” He detailed Israel’s three aims: (1) taking Iran off the map; (2) diminishing the Gulf Cooperation Council’s power, a rival to Israel; and (3) driving U.S. forces out of the Middle East by destroying bases. “I said this to Trump to his face in the Oval Office days before the war began,” Carlson added.
Trump’s response was: “Yes, you’re right. But in the end, we all die anyway, so it doesn’t matter.” When Carlson questioned the impact on future generations, Trump made a single sound—“Ahhhhh.” Carlson described this as “nihilism,” stating: “It does matter. Who lives or dies does matter. The future does matter… I have four children.”
Carlson insisted Trump’s Cabinet should remove him immediately for threatening nuclear war. During a UN speech two days ago, Trump declared: “Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and drive them into hell?”
Trump has previously threatened mass murder of Iranians. On April 7, he said: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” Earlier on Easter Sunday, he posted online: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran.”
On August 16, former GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene reported top officials discussed using nuclear weapons against Iran. Carlson stated Trump’s Cabinet should have removed him the moment he threatened a nuclear attack, calling it “a crime—there’s no greater crime than that.” He added: “Here you have a guy threatening to eliminate the human race, and that’s not considered a crime?”
In an interview, Carlson revealed Trump’s Iran war decision ended his support as the 47th president. “It was really central to my views of Trump’s candidacy and presidency,” he said. “So when it became clear in June that we were starting down this road toward regime change with Iran, I was baffled.” Carlson noted Trump knew the Iraq War’s devastation and had been under pressure for years.
