Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson says that, in the days before what he and some outlets have described as a U.S.-Israel “war with Iran,” Donald Trump brushed off Carlson’s warnings with, “We all die anyway.” The account appears in an NPR interview published Thursday, according to a write-up by Dave DeCamp at Antiwar.com.
What Carlson says he told Trump
Carlson told NPR that his concern was not Iran’s nuclear program but, as he framed it, an Israeli-driven push to take Iran “off the map,” diminish Gulf Arab states, and ultimately push the United States out of the region, Antiwar.com reported. “And he looked at me and said, ‘Yes. You’re right, but in the end we all die anyway, so it doesn’t matter,’” Carlson is quoted as saying. He added that Trump waved away concerns about their children and grandchildren, calling the stance “nihilism,” per Antiwar.com’s summary of the interview.
How the White House and Trump’s post factored in
When NPR asked about Carlson’s claim, the White House did not provide a direct response and instead pointed to a Truth Social post Trump had published earlier this year, according to Antiwar.com. In that post, Trump labeled Carlson and other conservative commentators “stupid people” for opposing the war with Iran and said they thought it would be “wonderful” for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, per the report.
Prior reporting on a pre‑war call
The New York Times reported earlier this year that two weeks before the conflict, Trump spoke with Carlson and tried to reassure him. “I know you’re worried about it, but it’s going to be OK. Because it always is,” Trump reportedly told him, the Times said.
All claims above are attributed to Antiwar.com’s report on an NPR interview with Carlson and to prior reporting in the New York Times.
