Carlson Defends Platner, Attacks Trump Over “Levers”

Tucker Carlson used a Canadian podcast appearance to defend progressive U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner amid accusations tied to a non-swastika Nazi tattoo, and to criticize President Donald Trump—saying Trump is “enslaved by greater powers.”

Tucker Carlson didn’t come to the conversation to cool anything off. In a lengthy interview on the Canadian podcast “Can’t Be Censored. ” he went straight for two targets at once: a Maine Democratic Senate candidate facing a public firestorm over a tattoo. and President Donald Trump. whom Carlson said he still likes but can’t trust to act freely.

Carlson joined the episode with the hosts Travis Dhanraj and Karman Wong, discussing what he framed as “the news of the day” and “various scandals” swirling around him—an exchange that quickly turned into a defense of someone else.

The conversation landed on Graham Platner, a progressive U.S. Senate candidate in Maine. Carlson defended him against what he described as attacks that have focused less on Platner’s political positions and more on a Nazi-associated tattoo. Carlson said Platner is being “called… a Nazi for the last month” because he had a tattoo “that was not a swastika. but apparently was connected to the German military at some point.” Carlson added that it is “not even clear he knew that. ” arguing that the controversy has veered into personal assault rather than substance.

During the discussion, Carlson also described how opponents appear to have attacked Platner “in his personal life,” and he linked that targeting to what he claimed is dissatisfaction with Platner’s level of support for Israel.

Carlson’s defense came as other reporting has challenged Platner’s version of events. The source material says “extensive reporting. including from CNN. ” has “largely rebutted Platner’s claim that he did not know his tattoo was the Totenkopf. ” describing the Totenkopf as “a symbol used by the Nazi SS and concentration camp guards.”.

The podcast also gave the exchange a sharper edge. After Carlson talked about “levers being pulled,” Dhanraj asked a direct question about whether those mechanisms—and the evidence behind them—would ever be exposed.

When Wong pressed him later on who might “come to power to tear down the system. ” Carlson answered with skepticism. saying he couldn’t name anyone and adding. “Who would want to be a politician?. It’s just so ugly.” He also said that once someone runs. “every bad thing you’ve ever done” is followed by scrutiny that includes “every relative” who had trouble in their past—citing rehab stays and an allegation involving a waitress.

That frustration with politics and the media flowed into Carlson’s remarks about Trump. Carlson said he has “always liked Trump” and described Trump as “charming. ” adding that he has known him “for so long. most of my life. really. at this point.” But Carlson said he feels Trump is trapped. “He is enslaved by greater powers. He’s not free to make whatever decision he wants to make,” Carlson said, before expressing disappointment with the president.

Carlson also returned to a separate controversy from earlier in the episode: his claim about Charlie Kirk. saying Kirk was “killed because of his ‘evolving views on Israel.’” Carlson argued that Kirk’s death was not connected to transgenderism. stating. “He was… most likely murdered for his evolving views on Israel.” He framed his own stance on threats as something he thinks he understood from the start.

Carlson described being fired after “15 years. ” calling his show “the highest-rated show in American cable television. ” and said he was “fired for my opinion.” He insisted he wasn’t “whining at all. ” saying he was “so grateful that I got fired. ” while also arguing that the risk was something he “did know.”.

In the clearest emotional thrust of the interview. Carlson said Charlie Kirk was “murdered” and added that “a lot’s at stake. The world is at stake.” Then he turned back to personal conviction. telling listeners that he believes he has a duty to speak what he thinks is true—“I’m often wrong. ” he said—and promising to keep speaking even if he might be mistaken.

The appearance—hosted by Travis Dhanraj and Karman Wong. with the full interview shown “above”—left the contradictions on the table: Carlson insisting evidence and “levers” may be at work. while the controversy over Platner’s tattoo remains disputed. with the source stating that reporting including CNN has challenged Platner’s claimed awareness of what the symbol meant.

Tucker Carlson Graham Platner Maine Senate Can’t Be Censored Travis Dhanraj Karman Wong Donald Trump Charlie Kirk Totenkopf Nazi tattoo