Story perspectives

Tucker Carlson Apologizes, Labels Trump Megalomaniac Amid Iran War Critique

5/2/2026

Summary

Carlson Denounces Trump

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson apologized for endorsing President Donald Trump, saying he misled listeners.
Tucker Carlson and his brother Buckley Carlson denounced the war in Iran and called President Donald Trump a megalomaniacal, destructive president.
The shift follows Carlson’s termination from Fox News in June 2023 after false election-fraud claims, which led Marjorie Taylor Greene to say she was deceived by President Donald Trump.

Summary

Carlson Toxicity

Lachlan Murdoch said Carlson’s escalating toxicity, including anti-LGBT rhetoric, caused his April 2023 firing.
His 1990 college paper called homosexuality “unnatural and unhealthy.”
He bragged on MSNBC Live in 2007 about beating a gay man.
In September 2025 he asked Secretary Pete Buttigieg “very specific questions about gay sex,” calling him a “fake gay.”
U.S. President Donald Trump later called Carlson a “low-IQ person – always easy to beat, and highly overrated!!!.”

History

Historical Context

Rupert Murdoch launched Fox News Channel on October 7 1996, appointing Roger Ailes as CEO and reaching 17 million cable households at debut. Its growth in the 1990s-2000s made it the dominant conservative outlet that shaped the Republican base, a role that persisted through Donald Trump’s 2016 win and continues to drive partisan commentary today.

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Carlson Denounces Trump

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson apologized for endorsing President Donald Trump, saying he misled listeners.
Tucker Carlson and his brother Buckley Carlson denounced the war in Iran and called President Donald Trump a megalomaniacal, destructive president.
The shift follows Carlson’s termination from Fox News in June 2023 after false election-fraud claims, which led Marjorie Taylor Greene to say she was deceived by President Donald Trump.

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