Tucker Carlson told Sky News on June 25 that he once promoted sweeping negative claims about Islam and Muslims and called himself “hysterical” for believing them. The admission arrives amid a broader public break from President Donald Trump, renewed criticism
On Thursday, June 25, Tucker Carlson didn’t just walk back part of his past—he confronted the moment he believes he went too far.
In an interview with Sky News. the conservative commentator and former Fox News host looked back at years of broadcasts that. in his telling. treated Islam and Muslims as a single threat. “Many times, I said on television, ‘The problem is Islam. The problem is Muslims. They all want to kill us. They’re all crazy. They’re all in this lunatic suicide cult created by Muhammad in the 7th century,’” Carlson said. “And I believed that. I was hysterical. I believed that. Now, that’s not true. Nothing about that is true, but I believed it.”.
That confession lands as Carlson continues to reshape his public stance—breaking more sharply with President Donald Trump. criticizing Israel’s role in U.S. foreign policy, and distancing himself from the Republican Party. The shift doesn’t erase what came before, but it changes how he wants his past to be understood.
Carlson’s evolution began well before Thursday’s interview. In December 2025. he called attacks on Muslim Americans “disgusting” and argued that radical Islam no longer posed a threat to the U.S. insisting the fears surrounding it came from “the Israeli government and its many defenders and informal employees in the United States.”.
Before those newer statements. Carlson’s record during his Fox News tenure was defined by frequent criticism of Muslims in the U.S. and abroad. He hosted Islam critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali in segments that criticized former President Joe Biden’s outreach to Muslim voters. characterizing those efforts as political “pandering.” He also disputed claims that Trump’s travel ban targeted Muslims and suggested Biden was appeasing the Muslim Brotherhood.
The backlash followed him. During his time at Fox News, Carlson drew repeated condemnation from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and other advocacy organizations, which accused him of promoting a “long history of Islamophobic, anti-immigrant and white supremacist rhetoric.”
Carlson framed his current distancing from earlier views as tied to a broader reassessment of Israel. “Israel has completely changed. I feel sorry for Israel,” he said. “But the Israel that I first visited decades ago bears no resemblance to modern Israel.”
That line of thinking has also fueled accusations of antisemitism, allegations Carlson has consistently denied. The Anti-Defamation League has described Carlson as a leading mainstream amplifier of antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories. In an April interview with BBC journalist Victoria Derbyshire. Carlson rejected claims that he’s antisemitic. saying. “Of course I’m not an antisemite — and that’s why they’re calling me one. My position on Israel has nothing to do the religion or ethnicity of Israelis. It has everything to do with decisions made by its government that hurt my country.”.
Tensions intensified after Carlson hosted white nationalist Nick Fuentes on his show in October 2025. When reminded Fuentes is a Holocaust denier, Carlson responded, “OK, but is that worse than killing kids?”
Carlson’s latest comments arrive as public opinion around both Muslims and Israel continues to shift in the U.S. The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding’s National Islamophobia Index increased from 25 in 2022 to 33 in 2025. with the largest increases among white Evangelicals. Catholics and Jews. Even so, 82% of Democrats viewed Muslims favorably in 2025, compared with 43% of Republicans—down from 71% in 2021.
Attitudes toward Israel have also moved. A March 2026 Pew Research Center survey found that 60% of American adults held an unfavorable view of Israel. including 70% of adults age 18 to 49. Among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents. unfavorable views rose to 80%. while Republican support—still the strongest of any political group at 69% favorable—fell 15 percentage points from 2025 to its lowest level in more than two decades.
For Carlson. the admission on June 25 functions as the sharpest signal yet that he wants his old arguments to be seen as wrong. not merely outdated. But his new framing also doesn’t settle the other question hanging over him—how a shift in Islam-related rhetoric. paired with escalating criticism of Israel. has landed him in a spotlight that has only widened the longer he stays on this path.
Tucker Carlson Sky News Fox News Muslims Islam rhetoric antisemitism allegations Israel Nick Fuentes Ayaan Hirsi Ali CAIR Anti-Defamation League Pew Research Center National Islamophobia Index