LOS ANGELES (OC).–U.S. Israeli Amb. Mike Huckabee met at Israel’s Ben Gurion with former Fox News host and now independent journalist Tucker Carlson to discus all matters related to Israel, hoping to bridge some differences with the two conservatives. White House officials would like to have Tucker Carlson on the White House side when it came to the Palestinian question but, more recently, with talk over President Donald Trump’s more aggressive line on Iran. Trump has sent two carrier strike groups to the Mideast, Abaraham Lincoln and Gerald R. Ford to let Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayahtollah Ali Khamenei know the he means business when it comes to getting a new Iranian nuke deal. Carlson has been consistently anti-war, opposed to U.S. involvement in any foreign wars, more recently in Gaza, Venezuela and now the developing conflict with the mullah government in Iran.
Tucker famously interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin Feb. 6, 2024, hoping to get Putin to end the Ukraine War. Tucker liked Trump’s 2024 campaign promise to end the Ukraine War at the earliest possible time, not knowing that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was the biggest obstacle to peace. Zelensky just wrapped up two days of trilateral peace talks with the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the United States in Geneva without any breakthrough because Zelensky refuses to cede easter Donbas to Putin. Zelensky has the EU backing, refusing to compromise on land, because EU officials see any concession to Putin as a prelude to more Russian aggression in Europe. Tucker got Putin to say in his controversial interview that Putin had no interest in warring with NATO, something charged by Zelensky to the European Union.
Huckabee, a stout Christian Zionist, exchanges views with Carlson who, during the Gaza War, has been critical of Israel for its hard line view of Hamas, viewed by Israel as a mortal enemy. Carlson has been conservative’s biggest critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, agreeing with European leaders that Netanyahu has waged a genocide campaign against the Palestinian people. Huckabee told Tucker that with Hamas still in charge of Gaza, there can be no lasting peace in Middle East. Huckabee told Carlson that the mullah regime in Iran sponsored the state sponsored terrorism in the region, requiring the Trump adminstration into deal with Iran if they want a comprehensive Mideast peace. “Tucker raise a lot of questions that a lot of Americans are asking,” said former MSNBC journalist Melissa Francis, attesting to big divisions with Tucker and the White House.
Tucker told Huckabee he had concerns about Netanyahu’s warmongering, know encouraging Trump to engage in regime change in Tehran. Carlson thinks Trump betrayed his campaign pledge to serve as a consistently anti-war president. “They came together and did a really good job of answering Tucker’s questions and the ambassador correcting the things that he felt like were wrong,” said Francis, who’s been to Israel eight times since the Oct. 7, 2024 Hamas massacre. “Huckabee called him out aon all thouse things and challenged him and corrected him todoay,” Francis said of Huckabee’s talk with Tucker. Tucker tends to tread lightly on neo-Nazis like Nick Fuentes, a frequent critic of Israel but Jews in general. Huckabee wanted Tucker to know that Trump was committed to promoting peace in the Middle East but couldn’t avoid obstacles like Iran.
Trump differs from Tucker in their anti-war views with Trump not afraid to use the Pentagon to help achieve a U.S. political agenda. Planning to rebuild the Gaza Strip and move on to spreading peace with the Arab Gulf States, Trump wants to expand the 2020 Abraham Accords by adding Saudi Arabia to the mix. U.S. journalists think Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordred the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Trump doesn’t hold Bin Salma accountable, only wants to move ahead to completing the Abraham Accords by including more Arab Gulf States into a peace accord with Israel. Palestinians, as represented by Hamas and Hezbollah, have been greatly weakened since the Oct. 7, 2023 Negev Desert massacre of 1,200 Israelis. White House officials would like to see Tucker blame Israeli less and focus on Iran.
Huckabee has turned out as the best ambassador Israel has ever seen in its over 90-year history. Trump wants a legacy of spreading peace in Israel with the Arab world, no longer backing terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah or state-sponsored terrorists like Iran. Trump doesn’t want war with Iran but it may be unavoidable since the Ayatollah has no intent of signing any new nuke deal with Trump. Trump would like to see Tucker come around to support his views on strengthening Mideast peace by promoting strong relations between Israel and other Arab States. “I think were all realized that this infighting is terrible for Republicians,” Francis said, encouraging Tucker to accept Trump’s views of a comprehensive Mideast Peace with Israek a peace with its Arab neighbors. Trump is determined to etch a lasting legacy as a Mideast peacemaker.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
