Opinion
The former Fox News host Tucker Carlson criticized conservative commentator Ben Shapiro for his perceived lack of patriotism and a focus on Israel over the United States.
Carlson, the former Fox News host, launched a sharpened attack against Shapiro for his focus on international conflicts, particularly those involving Israel and Ukraine.
In a recent interview with “Breaking Points” host Saagar Enjeti, Carlson expressed shock at the apparent indifference of some conservatives towards America’s well-being. He suggested that some right-wing pundits have neglected significant domestic issues in favor of their concerns about Israel.
“In the case of Israel and the Arab world, I’ve spent a fair amount of time in both and I like both. And I felt terrible for the people who were killed on October 7, I still do. So I had no weird motive, I was just thinking about it from an American perspective: Is this good for us, or is it not?” Carlson said.
“And I was just amazed by the intolerance and the willingness to immediately go to invective and character assassination,” he added.
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Carlson Slams Shapiro
Carlson then shifted his commentary to expressly criticize former Breitbart News editor-at-large Shapiro for not, in his view, maintaining an America-first platform that true conservatives embrace.
“There are people on the right who have spent the last two months every single day focused on a conflict in a foreign country as our own country becomes dangerously unstable, on the brink of financial collapse, with tens of millions of people who shouldn’t be here in the country, we don’t know their identities or the purpose of their being here,” railed Carlson.
“Like, stuff that could destroy the country for real and make it impossible for my kids to live here,” he continued. “They’ve said nothing about that, and they’re focused with laser intensity on foreign conflicts.”
While that is certainly true amongst centrist Republicans (the vast majority), Carlson surprised many by going after Shapiro.
“I’m shocked by how little they care about the country and including the person you mentioned,” he said referencing Shapiro. “And I can’t imagine how someone like that could get an audience of people who claim to care about America, because he doesn’t, obviously.”
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Shapiro Went After Carlson
In the days following the Hamas terror attacks on Israel, Shapiro had accused Carlson of “downplaying” the events.
“He compared (the attacks) to drug overdose deaths in the United States,” Shapiro said in a podcast episode. “Now, I believe we should fully care about the 100,000 drug overdose deaths that happen in the United States — these are two completely different issues.”
“To go this far afield, to link the issues, the only reason you’re doing this is because you wish to downplay the atrocity that just happened in Israel,” Shapiro charged.
Not stopping there, Shapiro then contended that Carlson equating the fentanyl crisis to the terrorist attacks was “idiocy” and “moral stupidity at the highest level.”
“Of course, we should care about what happens with fentanyl,” said Shapiro. “Of course, we should care about — we should close our border. Have I been unclear about this?”
“Of course, America should have closed borders when it comes to this sort of stuff. I’m on the same side as Tucker on that. I just don’t understand why he’s not on my side when it comes to ‘Hamas has to be wiped off the face of the earth,’” he continued. “What exactly is the counterargument?”
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