Huckabee Denounces Carlson’s Alleged Israeli Harassment as ‘Ridiculous’

U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee declared on Thursday that Tucker Carlson’s claims of being harassed by Israeli authorities after interviewing him were “ridiculous.”

Huckabee, speaking on Newsmax’s “American Agenda,” stated, “Something has surfaced that totally blows this out of the water.” He added that surveillance video shows Carlson hugging and taking photos with airport employees who he allegedly detained.

Carlson had previously stated that after his interview with Huckabee, “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.” He described the incident as bizarre, saying they were now “out of the country.”

Huckabee called Carlson’s account “really unfortunate” but mocked its details: “I’ll tell you, they roughed him up with all kinds of special snacks. They took his picture, they hugged him.” The ambassador emphasized that for “this ridiculously untrue story about how he was detained,” Carlson “was not” subjected to such treatment.

Israeli officials and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett have publicly denied the allegations. Bennett posted online: “The guy who’s been spouting lies about Israel for the past two years, landed today at Ben Gurion airport, took a quick picture in the logistics zone, tweeted it to pretend he’s actually IN Israel (so he can later claim that he’s a serious reporter who toured Israel), didn’t even step foot in country, then made up a story that he’s being supposedly harassed by our security (didn’t happen), whined about it, got back into the private jet and flew off.”

Bennett added: “Next time he talks about Israel as if he’s some expert, just remember this guy is a phony!”

Huckabee noted that standard airport screening applies to him. “They looked at his passport,” he said. “They looked at everybody’s passport.” He also stated that he always shows his diplomatic visa when traveling between the U.S. and Israel, and “they ask me the same questions.”

The incident has highlighted a growing divide within the Republican Party over Israeli policy. Carlson, an influential right-leaning voice, has increasingly echoed anti-Israel themes on his show, drawing younger candidates and online personalities toward his position. Huckabee, by contrast, is a prominent evangelical Christian Zionist who advocates for Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank.

Huckabee publicly pressed Carlson for an interview after the latter criticized him on his podcast regarding what he called a failure to push back against Israeli demonization of Christians. The two agreed to a sit-down, with Carlson posting a photo of himself arriving at the airport ahead of their meeting.