Conservative commentator and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson said on Thursday, June 25, that his years of anti-Muslim rhetoric and the way he viewed Islam and Muslims were wrong, admitting he was “hysterical.” The remarks, made during an interview with Sky News, mark another dramatic shift for Carlson, who has spent much of 2026 breaking with President Donald Trump, criticizing Israel’s role in U.S. foreign policy and distancing himself from the Republican Party.
Tucker Carlson publicly admits he was ‘hysterical’
Reflecting on his past broadcasts, Carlson acknowledged that he once embraced sweeping negative claims about Islam that he now rejects. “Many times, I said on television, ‘The problem is Islam. The problem is Muslims. They all want to kill us. They’re all crazy. They’re all in this lunatic suicide cult created by Muhammad in the 7th century,’” Carlson told Sky News. “And I believed that. I was hysterical. I believed that. Now, that’s not true. Nothing about that is true, but I believed it.”
Notably, the shift in Carlson’s rhetoric began way before Thursday’s interview. In December 2025, Carlson called attacks on Muslim Americans “disgusting” and argued that radical Islam no longer posed a threat to the U.S., claiming fears surrounding it came from “the Israeli government and its many defenders and informal employees in the United States.”
Tucker Carlson’s earlier remarks drew widespread criticism
During his tenure at Fox News, Carlson frequently criticized Muslims in the U.S. and abroad. He hosted Islam critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali in segments that criticized former President Joe Biden’s outreach to Muslim voters, characterizing those efforts as political “pandering.” He also disputed claims that Trump’s travel ban targeted Muslims and suggested Biden was appeasing the Muslim Brotherhood.
Carlson’s past commentary prompted repeated condemnation from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and other advocacy organizations, which accused him of promoting a “long history of Islamophobic, anti-immigrant and white supremacist rhetoric.”
Changing views on Israel prompt antisemitism allegations
Carlson said his evolving view on Muslims coincides with a broader reassessment of Israel. “Israel has completely changed. I feel sorry for Israel,” he said. “But the Israel that I first visited decades ago bears no resemblance to modern Israel.”
His criticism of Israel has triggered accusations of antisemitism, which he has consistently denied. The Anti-Defamation League has described Carlson as a leading mainstream amplifier of antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories. During an April interview with BBC journalist Victoria Derbyshire, Carlson rejected claims that he’s antisemitic, saying, “Of course I’m not an antisemite — and that’s why they’re calling me one. My position on Israel has nothing to do with the religion or ethnicity of Israelis. It has everything to do with decisions made by its government that hurt my country.”
Allegations of antisemitism against Carlson intensified after he hosted white nationalist Nick Fuentes on his show in October 2025. When reminded that Fuentes is a Holocaust denier, Carlson responded, “OK, but is that worse than killing kids?”
Shifting public opinion on Islam and Israel
Carlson’s comments come as public attitudes toward both Muslims and Israel continue to evolve in the U.S. According to the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, its National Islamophobia Index increased from 25 in 2022 to 33 in 2025, with the largest increases among white Evangelicals, Catholics and Jews. Even so, 82% of Democrats viewed Muslims favorably in 2025, compared with 43% of Republicans — down from 71% in 2021.
Attitudes toward Israel have also shifted. A March 2026 Pew Research Center survey found that 60% of American adults held an unfavorable view of Israel, including 70% of adults age 18 to 49. Among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, unfavorable views rose to 80%, while Republican support, though still the strongest of any political group at 69% favorable, fell 15 percentage points from 2025 to its lowest level in more than two decades.
