--- ---  # The Breakdown of Trump and Tucker Carlson's Alliance—and How It Goes Beyond the Iran War  by [Tiago Ventura](https://time.com/author/tiago-ventura/)  ## Tiago Ventura Apr 22, 2026 6:54 PM UTC  President Donald Trump during a live interview with Tucker Carlson at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on Oct. 31, 2024. President Donald Trump during a live interview with Tucker Carlson at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on Oct. 31, 2024.Patrick T. Fallon—Getty Images  by [Tiago Ventura](https://time.com/author/tiago-ventura/)  ## Tiago Ventura Apr 22, 2026 6:54 PM UTC Conservative commentator [Tucker Carlson ](https://time.com/7295566/trump-tucker-carlson-feud-israel-iran-conflict/)has long been regarded as a strong ally of President Donald Trump and a leading voice within the MAGA coalition. Although there were historic indications of [Carlson not being a fan](https://www.businessinsider.com/tucker-carlson-called-trump-the-most-repulsive-person-on-the-planet-in-1999-2021-7) of Trump’s, the tide had turned before the latter launched his campaign to return to the White House. At the Republican National Convention in July 2024, Carlson referred to the President as a “wonderful person” and [told](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIjG5veDZqY) the crowd that Trump’s survival of the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, some days earlier amounted to “divine intervention.” The Fox News host-turned-podcaster later [hit the campaign trail with Trump](https://www.c-span.org/program/campaign-2024/former-president-trump-campaigns-with-tucker-carlson-in-glendale-arizona/651374) and interviewed him about his vision for America. After Trump resumed office, Carlson showed support for many of the Administration’s core positions, [including](https://youtu.be/4rULvcS5X8U) its hardline [anti-immigration](https://time.com/7339768/trump-anti-immigration-speech-backlash/) stance and [push to dismantle](https://www.instagram.com/reels/DJ7tb6Mhvn6/) diversity, equity, and inclusion[ (DEI) policies](https://time.com/7210039/what-is-dei-trump-executive-order-companies-diversity-efforts/) across federal government. But that kinship has since become strained and appeared to reach a breaking point earlier this week, when Carlson—during an episode of his political commentary podcast—expressed regret over ever having supported Trump. Joined on _The Tucker Carlson Show_ by his brother Buckley, a former speechwriter for Trump, Carlson apologized to his audience for “misleading” them. “I mean you, and I, and everyone else who supported him, you wrote speeches for him, I campaigned for him. We were implicated in this for sure,” Carlson [said](https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=7211&v=H1v7qwoCVV4&feature=youtu.be) to his brother. “We'll be tormented by it for a long time. I will be, and I want to say I'm sorry for misleading people, it was not intentional.” The strong statement came after weeks of heightened tensions as Carlson and Trump hold polar opposite views regarding how to approach Iran. [Carlson has long criticized the Trump Administration](https://time.com/7295566/trump-tucker-carlson-feud-israel-iran-conflict/)’s military actions against Tehran and has [accused](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iGxuqtCM9kc) Trump of [abandoning the “America first” premise ](https://time.com/7382074/countries-trump-has-ordered-strikes-on-second-term/)he ran on. In June last year, prior to the U.S. joining Israel in [launching strikes on three key Iranian nuclear sites](https://time.com/7296469/u-s-strikes-iran-nuclear-trump-war/), Carlson urged Trump against actively entering the conflict. The disagreement resulted in Trump publicly berating Carlson by referring to him as “[kooky.](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114695595047194931)” They swiftly mended ties, with the President telling reporters that Carlson had called to apologize. But Trump’s decision to join forces with Israel once more and launch strikes against Iran on Feb. 28—and the subsequent war that has followed—prompted another major fallout. And it’s no longer solely matters related to Iran that are splintering relations, as the feud between the once-close allies has spilled over. Experts remarked upon Trump's various, highly-visible fallouts last year, citing them as a cornerstone of his leadership style. “The whole of Trump's presidency is based on public feud. This is a media President whose character was created by the media,” Dr. Mark Shanahan, associate professor of political engagement at the University of Surrey, [told](https://time.com/7342412/trump-musk-kimmel-newsom/) TIME. “He has to win, and in order for him to win, somebody else has to lose. The spats he's had across the media are a microcosm of that.” As this latest rift widens, here's a look at some of the recent clashes that led to Carlson publicly severing ties with the President he once championed.  Tucker Carlson speaks before Trump takes the stage during a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Oct. 27, 2024. Michael M. Santiago—Getty Images ### Strong opposition to the Iran war Carlson has emerged as one of the most [prominent voices](https://time.com/article/2026/03/17/joe-kent-s-resignation-over-iran-may-be-just-the-beginning/) on the right opposing U.S. military intervention against Iran. That opposition has earned him Trump’s wrath. Earlier this month, the President rebuked Carlson alongside other right-wing figures who have broken with him over the Middle East conflict. “I know why Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones have all been fighting me for years, especially by the fact that they think it is wonderful for Iran, the number one state sponsor of terror, to have a nuclear weapon—because they have one thing in common, low IQs,” he [claimed](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116416663301119812). “They’re stupid people, they know it, their families know it, and everyone else knows it, too!” Trump continued his attacks on Carlson on April 16, while also targeting [Joe Kent](https://time.com/article/2026/03/17/joe-kent-resignation-iran-war/), the former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center who resigned in March in protest of the U.S. entering a war with Iran. “Who’s dumber, Tucker Carlson or Joe Kent?” Trump [said](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116416663301119812). “Kent is a loser, just like Tucker, Candace, Megyn, and the rest of them are losers.” After his resignation, Kent made his first major [public appearance](https://youtu.be/1cbw1utqzHg?t=1290) on Carlson’s podcast, where the pair discussed their opposition to the Iran war and [claimed](https://youtu.be/1cbw1utqzHg?t=2637) the conflict had been carried out under the influence of Israel—a theory Carlson has long pushed and one that [Trump has denied.](https://time.com/7382322/trump-iran-war-progress-knocked-out-reason-for-strikes/) ### Carlson questions if Christians should have reconsidered support for Trump over Venezuela operation In January, Trump announced that Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, [Cilia Flores,](https://time.com/7343188/who-is-cilia-flores-maduro-wife-venezuela-politics/) had been [captured](https://time.com/7342941/venezuela-maduro-bombing-trump-delta-force/) from his residence in Caracas by American special forces and taken to New York to face criminal charges. Since then, [Delcy Rodríguez](https://time.com/7343035/delcy-rodriguez-venezuela-president/) has been sworn in as the country’s interim President and established, what some have described as, a more [compliant](https://time.com/article/2026/04/02/trump-and-the-venezuela-model-of-autocracy/) relationship with the U.S., giving Washington greater control over major oil hubs in the region. Looking back on the military operation earlier this month, Carlson argued that this should have been a moment for fellow Christians to pause and reflect. He [described](https://youtu.be/ykBp1WhdfLE?t=93) Maduro as an “anti-American leader and a socialist, not someone most Americans liked or really had cause to like,” but claimed Trump’s justification for removing him, in part[ tied to Venezuela’s oil](https://time.com/7343242/oil-bad-excuse-trump-strike-venezuela/), was unacceptable. “That’s not acceptable for Christians. In fact, that’s unacceptable for Americans or any civilized people because taking other people’s stuff by force cannot be allowed,” he [argued](https://youtu.be/ykBp1WhdfLE?t=212).  U.S. President Donald Trump and an AI-generated picture he posted on his Truth Social platform, seemingly depicting himself as Jesus Christ. Mandel Ngan—Getty Images ### Carlson says Trump’s threats against Iranian infrastructure on Easter Sunday could constitute a “war crime” One of Carlson’s fiercest critiques of Trump came after the President threatened to target Iranian civilian infrastructure if Tehran did not reopen the [Strait of Hormuz](https://time.com/article/2026/03/17/what-is-the-strait-of-hormuz-global-trade-oil-flow-iran-war/), a vital waterway through which roughly a fifth of global oil supply passes. “Tuesday will be power plant day, and bridge day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it! Open the f--kin' Strait, you crazy b-stards, or you’ll be living in hell. Just watch. Praise be to Allah,” Trump [warned.](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116351998782539414) Carlson described Trump’s words as “vile on every level.” “It begins with a promise to use the U.S. military, our military, to destroy civilian infrastructure in another country, which is to say to commit a war crime, a moral crime, against the people of the country,” he [said](https://youtu.be/ykBp1WhdfLE?t=684), taking particular issue with Trump’s language falling on Easter Sunday, one of the most important days in the Christian calendar. “How dare you speak that way on Easter morning to the country. Who do you think you are? You're tweeting out the F-word on Easter morning,” he [added](https://youtu.be/ykBp1WhdfLE?t=985). Carlson also rejected Trump’s use of “Allah,” framing it as “mocking the religion of Iran.” ### Backlash over Trump posting Jesus-like image Carlson was among the conservatives who rebuked Trump for sharing[ an AI-generated Jesus-like image](https://time.com/article/2026/04/14/catholic-vance-breaks-silence-on-deleted-trump-jesus-image-amid-outcry/) of himself as a robed figure with light emanating from his hands. The now-deleted image was posted on social media after Trump lambasted Pope Leo, following the Pontiff's call for an end to the Iran war. Trump insisted it wasn’t intended to be a Jesus-like depiction, stating he thought the image painted him as a doctor, but Carlson [rejected](https://youtu.be/Vv9Bh6Pu3uc?t=219) the explanation. The President later [shared](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116408742801619405) another AI-generated image of himself being embraced by Jesus, which Carlson described as a “[mockery](https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=322&v=Vv9Bh6Pu3uc&feature=youtu.be)” of religion. 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