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10:21 23.02.2026 •
Conservative podcasting titan Tucker Carlson said he and his staff were detained in Israel on Wednesday following an interview with Donald Trump's ambassador to the country.
The former Fox News host flew into Tel Aviv for a sit-down with Mike Huckabee, who challenged Carlson to speak to him directly following an online spat about the country's treatment of Christians.
Carlson, who also frequently criticizes Israel for its military actions in Gaza, 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, he revealed that he was met with hostility in the Middle Eastern country.
Carlson exclusively told the Daily Mail that shortly after the interview, Israeli officials confiscated his passport and hauled one of his colleagues off 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.
'It was bizarre. We’re now out of the country.'
Carlson frequently criticizes Israel for its military actions in Gaza and treatment of Christians
Huckabee, who has known Carlson for over three decades and previously worked with him at Fox News, invited Carlson to Israel for a discussion over their differences
'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.
In the end, the Israeli government decided not to bar Carlson from entering the country in order to avoid a 'diplomatic incident,' according to a Channel 13 report.
Israel's popularity remains at an all-time low in the GOP among young Republican voters and Trump supporters.
Carlson is a longtime ally of 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.
...Israel committed violent acts against a journalist close to Trump. Israel thus demonstrated both its disdain for Donald Trump personally and its disregard for freedom of speech and freedom of journalism, which Israel so often pontificates about. Excellent self-exposure!
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