Sen. Ted Cruz and bomb-throwing pundit Tucker Carlson are now in a full-blown cage match, with religion, Iran, and even Donald Trump thrown into the ring.
Carlson — once a reliable Trumpworld megaphone — has lately been sounding more like a contrarian-in-chief, especially on foreign policy. His latest provocation? A social media post from his network trying to play theologian-in-chief, arguing that “the people in charge don’t want you to know this, but Muslims love Jesus.”
The post went on to explain that Islam “reveres Him as a major prophet and messenger of the Lord, believes He performed miracles, and states that He will return to Earth to defeat the Antichrist,” before pivoting to defend outrage from Iran over a now-deleted image of Donald Trump depicted as Jesus. According to Carlson’s camp, that image “was an attack on his religion as well as Christianity.”
That didn’t sit well with Cruz — not even a little. “Tucker has turned into a deranged, Leftist psycho,” Cruz fired off on X, adding the kicker: “Who loves sharia.”
Cruz has been escalating for months, previously branding Carlson “the single most dangerous demagogue in this country” during remarks at an anti-Semitism symposium — a jaw-dropping label for a man once embraced by the right’s grassroots.
On his podcast, Cruz doubled down, blasting Carlson’s criticism of Trump’s hardline stance on Iran — including calls for “unconditional surrender.” “That is more anti-American rhetoric than anything I’ve ever heard Bernie Sanders say,” Cruz snapped. “The more Tucker Carlson attacks Donald Trump the more fringe he gets.”
Meanwhile, Trump himself isn’t exactly playing peacemaker. The president has clearly had it with his ex-cheerleader, telling reporters Carlson has “lost his way” before unloading in signature fashion in a scorching interview:
“Tucker’s a low IQ person that has absolutely no idea what’s going on. He calls me all the time; I don’t respond to his calls. I don’t deal with him. I like dealing with smart people, not fools.”
Carlson, for his part, isn’t backing down — or staying quiet. In a recent sit-down with Piers Morgan, he practically dared Cruz to take things to the next level. “I almost want to run for president just to debate Ted Cruz,” Carlson said, adding with a smirk that he expects it would go “about the way it went last time.”
He even twisted the knife, saying he keeps the memory of their past clash as a “little spark of joy” he revisits “for rainy days.”
But beneath the snark is something more serious: a growing fracture on the right over foreign policy, religion, and how far populism should go. Cruz warned that Carlson’s rhetoric isn’t just annoying — it’s dangerous.
“I have seen more anti-Semitism in the last 18 months on the right than at any point in my lifetime,” Cruz said. “It is being spread by loud voices, the most consequential of whom is Tucker Carlson.”
