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Tucker Carlson Claims He Was Detained and Interrogated in Israel, but That's Not the Whole Story

Dmitri Bolt
Dmitri Bolt  |  February 19, 2026 5:30 PM

Former Fox News host and growing conspiracy theorist Tucker Carlson claimed Wednesday that, following a brief visit to Israel, he was detained by Israeli security and interrogated for over 30 minutes. However, both the U.S. Ambassador to Israel and footage of the incident told a different story

“Men who identified themselves as airport security took our passports, hauled our executive producer into a side room and then demanded to know what we spoke to Ambassador Huckabee about,” Carlson said in a statement. “It was bizarre. We’re now out of the country.”

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee had a different version of the story.

"EVERYONE who comes in/out of Israel (every country for that matter) has passports checked & routinely asked security questions," he wrote on X. "Even ME going in/out with Diplomatic Passport & Diplomatic Visa."

The ambassador went on to share a statement from the Israel Airports Authority (IAA), which denied the allegations from Carlson.

“Contrary to the reports, Tucker Carlson and his entourage were not detained, delayed, or interrogated," the IAA wrote in a post on X. "Mr. Carlson and his party were politely asked a few routine questions, in accordance with standard procedures applied to many travelers. The conversation took place in a separate room within the VIP lounge solely to protect their privacy and to avoid conducting such a discussion in public."

"No unusual incident occurred, and the Israel Airports Authority firmly rejects any other claims," they added.

Footage of the incident also contradicted Carlson's telling:

This comes as the former Fox News host made a brief visit to Israel to interview Ambassador Huckabee. Over the past year, Carlson has repeatedly criticized Israel for allegedly undermining the president’s America First agenda, attacked U.S. intervention in Iran, and targeted the Israeli lobby. He has also given platforms to anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists, including one who labeled Winston Churchill the “chief villain” of World War II, and another who expressed admiration for Stalin. 

Carlson went even further at a Turning Point USA event in the summer of 2025, claiming that Epstein was running a blackmail operation on behalf of the Israeli government. No such document confirming that theory has yet to be produced, despite the release of more than 3.5 million documents from the infamous Epstein files.

Carlson's visit to Israel, however, doesn't appear to be anything groundbreaking, as Representative Dan Crenshaw noted that "While technically in Israel, Carlson was only in the country in a transit capacity for a few hours to conduct an interview with Ambassador Huckabee and never left the airport. He also refused an invitation to visit the Christian community in Israel.”

Carlson has recently been traveling across the Middle East, seeking to portray the region’s Muslim population as more favorable to Christians than Israel’s Jewish community. So far, he has focused on interviewing Christians and Muslims critical of Israel, presenting their perspectives as evidence for his claim.