Published on 6/26/2026
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Last update: 02:56 (Mecca time)
Conservative American political commentator Tucker Carlson admitted that he was wrong in his previous positions towards Islam and Muslims, in the latest remarkable shift in his political positions, months after he distanced himself from US President Donald Trump and escalated his criticism of Israel, according to a report published by Newsweek magazine.
Carlson said, during an interview with Sky News, that he had been repeating for years on television that “the problem is Islam, the problem is Muslims, they all want to kill us,” adding: “I was hysterical, and I believed it. Now that is not true, and none of that is true, but I believed in it.”
The change in his positions extended to Israel as well, as he said that the country he visited decades ago “does not resemble today’s Israel,” adding: “Israel has completely changed, and I feel sorry for it.”
Political transformations
Newsweek believes that these statements represent the latest episode in a series of political transformations that Carlson witnessed during the year 2026, after he announced the withdrawal of his support for Trump, apologized for “misleading” Americans into previously supporting him, and also recently announced his departure from the Republican Party.
The report indicates that Carlson’s previous record included numerous statements that were considered anti-Muslim. During his work on Fox News Channel, he hosted activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and criticized former President Joe Biden’s administration’s communication with American Muslims. He also defended Trump’s travel ban decision, denying that he targeted Muslims.
Human rights organizations, most notably the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), have long called for his dismissal, accusing him of adopting “anti-Islamic, anti-immigrant, and pro-white supremacist” rhetoric.
But Carlson has changed his tune since late 2025, describing attacks on American Muslims as “disgusting” and considering that fear of Islam is being exaggerated by the Israeli government and its supporters in the United States.
On the other hand, his increasing criticism of Israel has sparked accusations of anti-Semitism, which he strongly denies. Newsweek reported that the Anti-Defamation League accused him of promoting anti-Jewish ideas and conspiracy theories, especially after he hosted white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who denied the Jewish Holocaust, before Carlson later responded that his position on Israel “has nothing to do with the religion or race of the Israelis, but rather with their government’s policies that harm the United States.”
Changes in public opinion
The report links these transformations to broader changes in American public opinion. According to the National Islamophobia Index, the level of adoption of negative stereotypes about Muslims increased between 2022 and 2025, with the partisan division remaining clear, as 82% of Democrats view Muslims positively compared to only 43% of Republicans.
In contrast, popular support for Israel declined significantly. According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center in March 2026, 60% of Americans have a negative view of Israel, while Gallup data showed for the first time since 2001 that Americans’ sympathy for the Israelis no longer exceeds their sympathy for the Palestinians, indicative of a remarkable change in the American public mood.
