ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl stated that President Donald Trump told him that political commentator Tucker Carlson has "lost his way."
In a post to X today (Thursday), Karl reported that the President told him that he “knew that a long time ago, and he's not MAGA. MAGA is saving our country. MAGA is making our country great again. MAGA is America first, and Tucker is none of those things. And Tucker is really not smart enough to understand that."
President Trump also told Karl that he would have a say in the choice of who would rule Iran in the wake of the elimination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, stating: "We don't want them to put anybody in there unless it is approved by us."
The President's comments come after Carlson sparked controversy by claiming that Israel’s war against Iran is allegedly driven by a goal of destroying the Al-Aqsa Mosque and building the Third Temple in its place, in the latest comment by Carlson that critics say crossed the line from criticism of Israel into blatant antisemitism.
In an episode of the "Tucker Carlson Show," he asked, "How did all these guys wind up wearing patches suggesting the point of this war was the destruction of one of the holiest places in Islam and the rebuilding of a temple that is totally anathema to Christianity?"
He answered, "This has been going on a long time in public through, in part, the efforts of a group called Chabad, C-H-A-B-A-D."