Former Fox News host and political commentator Tucker Carlson has alleged that U.S. President Donald Trump is acting as a 'hostage' to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the ongoing war with Iran. In an interview published Saturday by The New York Times, Carlson said Trump was less an independent decision-maker and more constrained by Netanyahu and his supporters in the United States. He claimed Trump launched the war on February 28 but was unable to withdraw from it, and that the president was fighting against his own will.

Carlson further stated that only hours after Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran on April 8, Israel began killing civilians in Lebanon in a manner that drew global attention. He argued that Israel’s goal was to block all diplomatic solutions and continue the conflict until Iran was destroyed and destabilized. Criticizing Trump’s reluctance to publicly challenge Netanyahu, Carlson described the situation as one of total control, calling it a form of servitude.

Carlson has long been known as a prominent media ally of Trump, previously describing a 2024 assassination attempt on the president as 'divine intervention.'