Tucker Carlson detained in Israel

Conservative podcasting titan Tucker Carlson says he and his staff were detained in Israel on Wednesday following an interview with Mike Huckabee, Donald Trump's current ambassador to the country. The former Fox News host flew into Tel Aviv on Wednesday for a sit-down interview with Huckabee, who challenged Carlson to speak to him directly following an online spat about Israel's treatment of Christians. Carlson, who frequently criticizes Israel for its military actions in Gaza and treatment of Christians, took Huckabee up on his offer.

But as critics and pro-Israel activists began piling on Carlson for purportedly not leaving the airport during his brief visit, Carlson revealed that he was met with hostility in the Middle Eastern country. Carlson told the Daily Mail exclusively that shortly after the interview, Israeli officials confiscated his passport and hauled off his executive producer to an interrogation room. 'Men who identified themselves as airport security took our passports, hauled our executive producer into a side room and then demanded to know what we spoke to Ambassador Huckabee about,' Carlson told the Daily Mail in a statement. 'It was bizarre. We’re now out of the country.'

Prior to the interview, Carlson posted a photo on X alongside his business partner Neil Patel in front of Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday with the caption: 'Greetings from Israel.' 'Too bad Tucker stayed in the airport in the face of so many invitations to see so many wonderful places. A huge and obviously intentional missed opportunity,' taunted David Friedman, the former US ambassador to Israel during Trump's first term. Two sources familiar with the matter, however, told the Daily Mail that the Israeli government initially did not want to allow Carlson into the country, prompting a delicate negotiation involving the State Department.

The Israeli government decided to not bar Carlson from entering the country the visit in order to not cause a 'diplomatic incident,' according to a Channel 13 report. The Daily Mail has contacted the White House, State Department, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office for comment. Carlson accused Huckabee last week on his YouTube show of not ensuring proper protections for Christians in Israel. Huckabee, who has known Carlson for over three decades and previously worked with him at Fox News, responded by inviting him to Israel for a discussion.

'Instead of talking about me, why don’t you come talk to me?' Huckabee wrote on X. Carlson replied by welcoming the invitation before noting the they were working on setting up the interview. Israel's popularity remains at a all-time low in the GOP among young Republican voters and Trump supporters. The Carlson-Huckabee event was reportedly an attempt by the Trump administration to prevent debates surrounding Israel from breaking the GOP's conservative coalition ahead of the midterms. Trump urged Carlson and others within the GOP to ease off internal fights with Republicans over Israel, according to former Fox News anchor Melissa Francis.

'Everybody’s looking for a way to turn down the temperature,' Francis told the Jerusalem Post. 'President Trump is telling everyone, including Tucker, "Let’s take this down."' Carlson is a longtime ally to Vice President JD Vance and speaks with Trump on a range of issues, including foreign policy. Last month, Carlson visited the White House twice and met with Trump in the Oval Office on at least one known occasion.