Main points
- American journalist Tucker Carlson was detained in Israel after an interview with the US ambassador, his passport was confiscated, and the producer was questioned.
- Israel initially did not want to let Carlson into the country, but after negotiations with the US State Department, it allowed entry to avoid a diplomatic incident.
Journalist Tucker Carlson detained in Israel / Channel 24 collage
American journalist and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson said he and his film crew were detained in Israel after recording an interview with the US ambassador.
The journalist himself exclusively told the Daily Mail about this.
Why was the journalist detained?
On Wednesday, February 18, American conservative podcaster Tucker Carlson said that he and his film crew were detained at an airport in Israel.
The publication writes that after a public debate online about Israel's treatment of Christians, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee invited the journalist to discuss the issue in person. The journalist, in turn, accepted the diplomat's invitation and arrived in Tel Aviv for the meeting.
However, critics and pro-Israel activists said that Carlson allegedly did not even leave the airport grounds during his visit, to which the journalist reported hostile treatment and detention at the airport.
In a comment to the Daily Mail, he stated that shortly after speaking with US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, Israeli officials confiscated his passport and took the executive producer in for questioning.
Men who identified themselves as airport security took our passports, took our executive producer to a private room, and then demanded to know what we had talked about with Ambassador Huckabee. It was strange,
– said Carlson.
Currently, the podcaster says, he and his team are outside of Israel.
Before the interview with the US ambassador, Carlson posted a photo on social media with his business partner Neil Patel in front of Ben Gurion Airport with the caption: “Greetings from Israel.”
Greetings from Israel. pic.twitter.com/1uBWvqBNST
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) February 18, 2026
Two sources familiar with the incident told the Daily Mail that the Israeli government initially did not want to let Carlson into the country, leading to delicate negotiations involving the US State Department.
As a result, the Israeli government decided not to ban Carlson from entering in order to avoid a “diplomatic incident.”
What is known about journalist Tucker Carlson?
-
Carlson is known as a longtime associate of Donald Trump and an ally of US Vice President J.D. Vance. Just last month, the podcaster visited the White House twice and met with Trump in the Oval Office at least once.
-
Former Fox News anchor Melissa Francis says Trump asked Carlson and other Republicans to stop their internal bickering over Israel and “de-escalate the tensions.”
-
At the same time, the journalist continues to criticize Trump for supporting Israel. He believes that this will drag the United States into war. In turn, Trump responded to Carlson's statements and called him “crazy,” because, according to him, Iran cannot have nuclear weapons.
-
Earlier, Carlson, who interviewed Putin, stated that President Zelensky is an enemy of the United States.