Podcast host Megyn Kelly affirmed Tucker Carlson’s view that the existence of anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States is created by those who support Israel.
Appearing on “Next Up” with Mark Halperin, Kelly discussed Carlson’s recent interview with New York Times reporter Lulu Garcia-Navarro, in which he spoke about his opposition to President Donald Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran.
Carlson argued during the interview that Iran is largely Israel’s problem and that the United States should not have gotten involved.
In conversations with the commander-in-chief, Carlson recounted to the outlet, Trump would often raise the issue of Iran having a nuclear weapon. “To which I said: Well, I’m sort of opposed to nuclear weapons. I don’t want nuclear weapons, I don’t want Israel to have a nuclear weapon, I don’t want anyone to have a nuclear weapon. It doesn’t seem like a good thing. But that’s not the question. The question is: What do you do about it?”
Regarding the decision to go to war, Carlson suggested that Trump was overly influenced by people like Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch, Fox News host Sean Hannity, as well as Jewish-Americans like Miriam Adelson and talk show host Mark Levin.
They were “pushing the president to do this and telling him that you will be a figure out of history, you will save and redeem Israel, or something.”
“I think that was the case they were making,” Carlson said.
Kelly repeated his views, calling those who support the war “Israel firsters” that make up a Republican right “faction.”
@HarvardCAPS Harris poll shows supermajority of Americans overwhelmingly back all of Trump’s demands with Iran and say he should “insist on all of these points” and not “settle for less.” At the top of their list? 78% say “Iran must stop executing protesters”! pic.twitter.com/zQogTuShKG
— Marc Thiessen 🇺🇸❤️🇺🇦🇹🇼🇮🇱 (@marcthiessen) May 7, 2026
“He’s gotten very, very popular, I read, with Muslim viewers, because he’s been standing up for Islam,” Kelly said of Carlson.
“I have to tell you… it’s been something I’ve noticed, since I’ve gotten more clear-eyed on Israel, that a lot of the anti-Muslim rhetoric that’s put out there originates with people who are very, very pro-Israel, who kind of need us to demonize them,” she said of Muslims.
“And I’ve taken a look recently at my own rhetoric on this, to say that, ‘Have I been manipulated?’ and make sure I’m not getting manipulated,” Kelly said.
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Neither Trump nor the so-called Israel-firsters are demonizing Islam writ large.
During his first term, Trump facilitated the Abraham Accords between Israel and some of its Arab neighbors. And he made his first foreign visit of his second term to the Muslim-majority nations of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
And not Israel, by the way. He visited there later.
Trump has taken a strong stance against Iran and its proxies of Hezbollah and Hamas because they oppose peace. The president has called out Iran for killing tens of thousands of protesters in recent months.
Garcia-Navarro noted during her interview with Carlson that he described Trump as being a slave to foreign interests.
When she pressed him on who exactly the president is enslaved to, Carlson responded, “By Benjamin Netanyahu and by his many advocates in the United States. And we know that not simply because Trump started the war on Feb. 28, but because he couldn’t get out of it.”
Last month, the president dispelled the notion that Israel talked him into a war with Iran. “Israel never talked me into the war with Iran, the results of Oct. 7th, added to my lifelong opinion that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, did,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists invaded Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing approximately 1,200 Israelis and taking 251 hostages.
In another Truth Social post, Trump wrote, “Whether people like Israel or not, they have proven to be a GREAT Ally of the United States of America. They are Courageous, Bold, Loyal, and Smart and, unlike others that have shown their true colors in a moment of conflict and stress, Israel fights hard, and knows how to WIN!”
In March, Netanyahu addressed the issue of Israel supposedly manipulating Trump, saying, “I did not have to convince President Trump of anything. He acted as a great leader does, to protect his country and to protect the future.”
PM NETANYAHU: I DID NOT HAVE TO CONVINCE PRESIDENT TRUMP OF ANYTHING@netanyahu: He acted as a great leader does, to protect his country and to protect the future.@POTUS pic.twitter.com/daawaXMhy0
— Real America’s Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) March 19, 2026
Does anyone really think Trump could be pushed into a war he did not feel was justified, whether by Netanyahu or anyone else?
It may be trendy for people like Carlson and Kelly to try to pick up Islamic followers on social media by bashing Israel, but Trump has shown moral resolve by confronting Iran and seeking to bring peace to the Middle East, which benefits not only the nations in that region but the entire world.
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