‘Cowardly, know-nothing elitist:’ Tucker Carlson’s claim Israel is killing Christians faces conservative backlash
Ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson's recent claim that Israel persecutes Christians is drawing strong backlash from some conservatives.
In a video that aired earlier this week, Carlson alleged Israel kills Christians and criticized Christians who support Israel amid its war with Hamas, in which more than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza have died.
"If you wake up in the morning and decide that your Christian faith requires you to support a foreign government, blowing up churches and killing Christians, I think you’ve lost the thread," Carlson said.
Carlson's remark came toward the end of his interview with Munther Isaac, a pastor from Bethlehem. Isaac had previously been accused of being sympathetic toward Hamas' Oct. 7 attack against civilians attending a music festival in southern Israel, according to Mediaite.
While many replies viewed the segment favorably, it proved divisive among conservatives, with some—such as Breitbart senior editor-at-large Joel Pollak—pointing out that Christians used to be the majority in Bethlehem, a city that falls under the control of the Palestinian Authority.
"The Palestinian Authority has been Islamizing the city since taking control of Bethlehem 30 years ago. Israeli 'occupation' is hardly the primary issue," Pollak wrote, adding in a later post that Isaac "does not believe Israel should exist, a fact Tucker does not discuss."
Right-wing activist Laura Loomer similarly rebuffed Carlson's claims, writing on X that he is "spew[ing bullshit to millions of people and mak[ing] it seem like Israel is disrespecting Christians while not doing anything to reiterate that Bethlehem is under the control of the Palestinian Authority."
But perhaps the loudest voices denouncing Carlson came from a member of Congress—Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas)—who, on Wednesday, dubbed the political commentator "a click-chaser" seeking to "defend America’s enemies and attack America’s allies."
"There isn’t an objective bone left in that washed up news host’s body," Crenshaw wrote on Wednesday. "Mindless contrarianism is his guiding principle, buttressed by his childish tactic to 'juSt aSK quEsTiOns!'"
The third-term lawmaker continued his rebuke, arguing that Carlson "uses his platform to sow doubt and paranoia and false narratives" in order to get clicks and engagement.
"He wants you to believe he is the last place you can go to for truth, that he’s the ONLY one brave enough to reveal the elitist lies being told," Crenshaw said. "This nonsense about Christian mistreatment in Israel is just the latest example. Tucker will eventually fade into nothingness, because his veneer of faux intellectualism is quickly falling apart and revealing who he truly is: a cowardly, know-nothing elitist who is full of shit."
Crenshaw's criticism of Carlson drew rebukes from the MAGA crowd, who have long deemed Crenshaw an insufficiently conservative lawmaker.
"No one in Texas like this guy anymore. Sold his soul to the uniparty," wrote the Hodgetwins.
"Crenshaw is furious because Tucker was effective in making the American people reassess our foreign policy ... This, more than anything else, is why Tucker was ousted from Fox News. This, more than anything, is why I respect Tucker Carlson," wrote the Liberty Lockdown podcast.
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