Tucker Carlson on his MAGA split and Trump's 'nihilism' | NPR's Newsmakers
9/24/2026
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57:47
Tucker Carlson is talking about what happened behind closed doors in his very public break with President Trump.
In this episode of NPR's Newsmakers, Carlson told host Steve Inskeep about a meeting with Trump in which, he says, Trump dismissed his concerns about the Iran war by saying, "We'll all die anyway."
Carlson has taken the view not only that Israel influenced Trump to launch the war, but that Israel gave Trump no choice, and in fact that outside forces control both American political parties, which he described as the "uniparty," a single organization. Carlson's theories have raised questions about antisemitism — a charge he denied before being asked. Carlson also revisits his years as a cable-TV partisan, talks about a possible third party and explains why he believes both major parties have failed Americans.
In response to a request for comment from NPR, the White House did not address Carlson's claims specifically, instead sending along a social media post by the president that describes Carlson and others as "stupid people" who want Iran to have a nuclear weapon.
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In this episode of NPR's Newsmakers, Carlson told host Steve Inskeep about a meeting with Trump in which, he says, Trump dismissed his concerns about the Iran war by saying, "We'll all die anyway."
Carlson has taken the view not only that Israel influenced Trump to launch the war, but that Israel gave Trump no choice, and in fact that outside forces control both American political parties, which he described as the "uniparty," a single organization. Carlson's theories have raised questions about antisemitism — a charge he denied before being asked. Carlson also revisits his years as a cable-TV partisan, talks about a possible third party and explains why he believes both major parties have failed Americans.
In response to a request for comment from NPR, the White House did not address Carlson's claims specifically, instead sending along a social media post by the president that describes Carlson and others as "stupid people" who want Iran to have a nuclear weapon.
Newsmakers is where you'll find NPR's biggest interviews. Follow or subscribe on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you watch or listen to podcasts to get new episodes as soon as possible. You can also find Newsmakers on the NPR app.
Newsmakers relies on supporters who value independent journalism and a free press. Join NPR+ today to support our work and get perks from the podcasts you trust. Go to plus.npr.org.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy
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