Tucker Carlson Apologizes Over Christian Zionist Remarks

American commentator and journalist Tucker Carlson apologized on during a conversation with comedian Dave Smith on Tuesday, for his previous remarks in which he claimed to dislike Christian Zionists, saying he was "mad" and that the comments were not reflective of his true feelings.

The controversy originated from a prior interview with right-wing podcaster Nick Fuentes, where Carlson criticized Christian Zionism and named figures like U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, former U.S. President George W. Bush, and former National Security Advisor during President Trump's first term, John Bolton as victims of this ideology. The conservative firebrand referred to Chrisitian Zionism as "Christian heresy" and a "brain virus."

The interview sparked backlash from pro-Israel jewish neocons and Zionists, with Republican Senator Ted Cruz condemning Carlson for associating with Fuentes, claiming that he had seen more antisemitism on the right in the past six months than in his entire life.

Carlson admitted he regretted saying he "disliked Christian Zionists more than anybody" because he was "mad" and lacked nuance, emphasizing that he does not hate the people themselves, whom he described as "really good people and sweet people."

His criticism, he said, stems from his distress over Israeli military actions in Gaza, specifically strikes that hit Christian churches, which he claimed were not accidents and were a major source of his frustration.

Carlson argued that using biblical mandates to justify such actions is "extremely upsetting" and contradicts Christian teachings, stating that "there’s no justification for that in the New Testament, period."

The apology comes amid a broader conservative debate over Israel's influence on U.S. foreign policy and domestic politics, and the role of Christian Zionism within the American right, with Carlson criticizing Jewish neocon Ben Shapiro for his hypocritical identity politics as a "proud Zionist" while opposing it in other contexts.

Several Jewish leaders have since resigned from Heritage Foundation since its President Kevin Roberts defended Carlson. Critics slammed the Jewish leaders, calling them "Israel Firsters," who put the interests of Israel before that of the United States.