Tucker Carlson says he will not support the Republican Party—nor the Democratic Party—after months of condemning President Donald Trump’s approach to the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran and alleging pro-Israel influence behind Trump’s 2024 campaign.
For months, Tucker Carlson has been attacking the political center of gravity he once helped propel. Now he’s drawing a line in plain language: he says he’s done with the Republican Party.
“I would not support the Republican Party. there’s no chance. ” Carlson said during a recent appearance on the “Can’t Be Censored” podcast. “And [I’m] not going to support the Democratic Party. I don’t know what I’m going to do.” He added. “I’m out. ” and then widened the view. saying. “if I’m out. then I think a lot of other people are out.”.
The break is not coming out of nowhere. Carlson has repeatedly condemned President Donald Trump’s involvement with Israel. particularly the administration’s actions in the U.S.-Israel joint military conflict with Iran. He asked during the June 18 podcast episode how American voters “could support a political party that’s not loyal to the United States” and “puts the interests of a foreign country above those of its own citizens.”.
In that same June 18 appearance. Carlson alleged that Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign was “funded largely by people with loyalty to Israel.” He went further on the origin of the conflict. saying the U.S. entered the war “because of pressure from the prime minister of Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu.” “Knowing that is knowing that the U.S. government betrayed the United States. Like there’s no other way to read it,” Carlson said. He framed his withdrawal from politics as a moral decision. saying he can no longer defend the party because it’s “immoral.”.
“It’s not possible to vote for people like that, and I’m not going to,” Carlson said. “I voted Republican my entire life, I worked at Fox News. … I’ve been a consistent defender for 35 years of the Republican Party, but there’s no defending this because it’s immoral.”
That message lands in the middle of a relationship that has already splintered publicly. In March, Trump said Carlson had “lost his way” and was no longer part of the MAGA movement. The feud has sharpened around Israel and Netanyahu, with Carlson repeatedly rebuking Trump’s ties to both. Carlson accused Trump of ditching “America First” by being “complicit” in Israel’s “act of war” after Israel launched military strikes on Iran.
Carlson’s criticism escalated further in April. He told Newsmax that the president is a “slave” to Israel and is “hemmed in by other forces.” When asked whether he believes Trump is specifically a “slave” to Netanyahu days later in an interview on BBC’s “Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. ” Carlson offered a more nuanced answer without stepping back from the thrust of his claim. “I don’t think it is as simple as ‘he is under the control of Netanyahu. ’ but you could certainly summarize it that way and you wouldn’t be totally inaccurate. ” Carlson said. adding that he blames Israel for the U.S. getting involved in the war.
He tied that blame to what he described as a defining decision. “We know this because the single biggest mistake Trump – or any American president in my lifetime – has made was going to war with Iran in an effort to change its regime,” Carlson said.
Trump has pushed back. He told a reporter at the White House in March, “If anything, I might’ve forced Israel’s hand.” In their ongoing public clash, Trump has also referred to Carlson as a “low IQ person” and shared offensive memes involving him.
The sequence of accusations and counterattacks now has a new political destination: Carlson’s stated refusal to support the Republican Party. His argument is anchored in loyalty—to the United States—and in the idea that pro-Israel influence has overridden American interests. Whether other voters agree with the specifics or not. the personal stakes are clear: a longtime defender says he cannot vote for the party he once championed. and he doesn’t believe enough has changed.
For now, Carlson’s next step is intentionally left open. He said he doesn’t know what he’ll do politically after refusing both major parties. But the bluntness of “I’m out” is already reshaping the political math of a debate he’s spent months dragging into the spotlight—Trump. Israel. Netanyahu. and the question of who. exactly. he believes is driving American decisions in the conflict with Iran.
Tucker Carlson Republican Party Donald Trump MAGA Israel Netanyahu Iran conflict 2024 presidential campaign U.S.-Israel joint military conflict