Ted Cruz Presses Tucker Carlson Amid 2028 Presidential Chatter

Senator Ted Cruz is sharpening his attacks on Tucker Carlson in what many Republicans view as early positioning for a 2028 presidential run.

By openly challenging Carlson's isolationist foreign policy views, accusing him of promoting antisemitic rhetoric, Cruz is aligning himself with the party's traditional interventionist wing and signaling a willingness to confront the MAGA movement's internal divides.

"We have a responsibility to speak out even when it's uncomfortable," Cruz said in a statement to Axios. "When voices in our own movement push dangerous and misguided ideas, we can't look the other way. I won't hesitate to call out those who peddle destructive, vile rhetoric and threaten our principles and our future."

Carlson brushed off Cruz's criticism as "hilarious," and responded simply with "Good luck."

In recent weeks, Cruz has repeatedly pressed Carlson over his opposition to U.S. support for Israel, Ukraine, and Trump's 2023 missile strike on Iran's nuclear facility.

"On foreign policy, Tucker has gone bat-crap crazy," Cruz said after a June podcast appearance, adding the host had "gone off the rails."

Cruz has also condemned Carlson's friendly interview with white nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, calling Carlson a "coward" and "complicit in evil" during an October address to the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Cruz amplified his criticism on social media, accusing Carlson of "literally calling Jews Nazis" and reposting commentary highlighting Carlson's comparisons between Israeli officials and Adolf Eichmann.

"Tragic. When you start down the slippery slope of antisemitism, you quickly embrace anti-capitalism & anti-Americaism as well," said Cruz on Social media.

Republican strategists say Cruz's stance is resonating with pro-Israel donors alarmed by the GOP's drift toward isolationism, a shift propelled by Carlson and embraced by Vice President J.D. Vance, the early favorite for 2028.