Peloni: Peg makes some very good observations here regarding both the Carlson-Cruz ‘debate’ and the Trump-Carlson showdown.
Importantly, the obsessive, selective and solitary focus on Israel by Carlson and his allies in the Woke Right demonstrates the reality that their objections are against Israel rather than in deference to any domestic interest in refraining from international misadventures. Indeed, as I have noted on many occasions, it might be said that the tirades against supporting Israel could be labeled anti-Israel or perhaps pro-Iran, but it lacks any foundation on which they could be claimed to be in support of America First agenda, which would require a far greater punditry from Carlson et al against US involvement in such enterprises as funding the Hezbollah led Lebanon for instance, which should reasonably demand similar effort of their excoriation if their interest was not specifically in opposition to the only Jewish State. As all their efforts seem to pull in one direction, against the nation of Israel alone, it makes both their point and their motivation pretty clear. And yet, only Sen. Cruz has successfully made this point while challenging Carlson on his face to face platform.
Tierney’s Real News | June 19, 2025
Screenshot from Youtube [Cropped]
I was going to write a review of the Ted Cruz-Tucker Carlson ‘debate’ but PJ Media stole my thunder with a well written summary. If you love Tucker more than Trump & MAGA – you’ll want to stop reading my newsletter now.
I’m not a big fan of Ted Cruz (ever since his last minute move with Carly Fiorina & Rick Wilson in 2016) but I do know who Tucker is and he’s never been MAGA. If you’ve followed me for a while you know where I stand on Tucker. I’ve lost lots of followers because of my views on Tucker & his Koch Libertarian pals.
In this interview, Tucker looked like a 3rd grade journalist while he vigorously defended Iran, criticized Israel and bashed Trump – he finally exposed his true colors as a Koch-funded Never Trumper & anti-Semite. Tucker later apologized to Trump – in case you think I’m kidding.
TRUMP: “Tucker’s a nice guy. He called and apologized the other day because he thought he said things that were a little bit too strong. And I appreciated that. I did ask Tucker – are you OK with nuclear weapons being in the hands of Iran? And he didn’t like that. I said – if it’s OK with you, then you and I have a difference.”
Anyway, here’s the interview critique from PJ Media – you should watch the interview yourself to see the tone.
PJ MEDIA: “For political junkies who cut their teeth on “60 Minutes,” “Meet the Press,” CNN, and Fox News, longform podcasts were a godsend. Finally freed of commercial restraints and surface-level superficialities, longform podcasts took you beyond the talking points, treating audiences to a deep dive of a topic’s intricacies. Even when the podcast host had limited knowledge of the subject matter (Joe Rogan, I’m looking at you), the benefit of the longform platform was that it facilitated an open-ended, free-floating conversation where both sides learned more about the other.
But there was an important catch: It only worked when both sides were acting in good faith. You had to really, truly care about what they say. More than anything else, that’s the secret to Joe Rogan’s phenomenal success: He’s genuinely curious about his guests.
He doesn’t invite them on to mock them or belittle them. He’s not trying to settle stupid feuds, score points, or play a political game of “gotcha.” Instead, Rogan respects his guests and wants to learn more.
That sure wasn’t Tucker Carlson’s approach during his astonishingly mean-spirited interview with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.). The ex-Fox News host had absolutely no interest in hearing Cruz’s opinions or to better understand his (and President Trump’s) position on Israel, Iran, or anything else. His purpose wasn’t to have a grown-up conversation about grown-up issues, but to mock and belittle Ted Cruz so the video “goes viral”:
“Oh, I don’t think I’m obsessed with Israel,” Tucker Carlson said… in a podcast where Israel was mentioned 140 times!
Ted Cruz tried his best to be conciliatory: He warmly welcomed Tucker Carlson (the interview was filmed in Cruz’s Senate office). He began by complementing Carlson, crediting him for his leading the opposition against COVID restrictions. He stressed that they agree far more than they disagree. Cruz gave him a full two hours of his time!
He was polite and respectful.
And Carlson responded with rudeness, condescension, personal attacks, and laughing in his face.
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