Texas Sen. Ted Cruz blasted Tucker Carlson as the “single most dangerous demagogue” in the U.S. as MAGA is being ripped apart by Donald Trump’s war in Iran.
The pair have been at each other’s throats for months, but they reignited their feud this week when Cruz appeared at a conference on antisemitism.
“I have seen more antisemitism in the last eighteen months on the right than at any point in my lifetime,” Cruz said. “It is growing, and it is gaining real purchase, especially with young people.”
Speaking at the conference hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition and National Review, the Texas senator warned that antisemitism was being spread by loud voices and specifically singled out Carlson as the “most consequential.”
“I believe Tucker Carlson is the single most dangerous demagogue in this country,” Cruz warned.
He argued the antisemitism spike started about a year and a half ago, with Carlson giving a platform to “crackpot professors” looking to rewrite history. He also noted Carlson hosting far-right white nationalist Nick Fuentes on his show.
“Nick Fuentes is a goose-stepping Nazi,” Cruz said. “When you say you agree with Hitler, you are a Nazi.”
Speaking last fall at the Republican Jewish Coalition Leadership Summit, Cruz also blasted Carlson for his Fuentes interview, calling him “complicit in that evil.”
The senator’s comments on Tuesday came after Carlson last week blasted Cruz and others for trusting Israeli intelligence as the U.S. and Israel wage war against Iran. He argued the U.S. has been manipulated by Israeli intelligence.
“The track record suggests, hey, no offense to Ted Cruz and all the other dumbos who are always saying, ‘we get all this actionable intelligence, it’s so important, we need them so desperately.’ Really?’ Carlson questioned. ”Let’s evaluate the quality of that intelligence."
The conservative podcaster has been fiercely critical of Trump’s Iran war since the U.S. first launched strikes on February 28, joining Israel in an ongoing military operation.
But Cruz and Carlson have clashed over Israel and Iran for nearly a year. The Texas senator actually appeared on Carlson’s show last June, where he was repeatedly pressed about his knowledge of Iran.
“You don’t know the population of the country you seek to topple?” Carlson asked Cruz incredulously at the time.
Cruz shook his head and asked, “How many people live in Iran?”
“92 million,” Carlson told him. “How could you not know that?”
The conversation between the two rapidly devolved into a yelling match where Carlson argued that knowing details about Iran was extremely relevant if Cruz was going to call for its government to be overthrown.
Cruz appeared to be fuming about the exchange for some time because when Carlson admitted he did not know the number of Christians in Qatar on his show last month, the senator was quick to react.
“What?!? Tucker doesn’t know the Christian population in Qatar??? How can he possibly have an opinion about them?” he wrote on X.
But it’s clear which of the two men has Trump’s ear at the moment as the war continues: Trump praised Cruz just before launching the war in late February.
The president also hit back at Carlson calling the war “disgusting and evil,” arguing “Tucker has lost his way” and is “not MAGA” in an interview with ABC News.
