Newsweek magazine published a report titled “Tucker Carlson backtracks on his previous anti-Islam views… I was hysterical,” about the major shift in the positions of the famous conservative American political commentator Tucker Carlson, who admitted that he was wrong in his previous positions towards Islam and Muslims, in the latest remarkable shift in his political positions, after months of distancing himself from US President Donald Trump and escalating his criticism of Israel.
The report quoted Carlson, during an interview with Sky News, as saying 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, none of it is true, but I believed it.”
His change of heart extended to Israel as well, as he said that the country he visited decades ago “does not resemble the Israel of today,” adding: “Israel has changed completely, and I feel sorry for it.”
The report notes that these statements represent the latest in a series of political shifts Carlson has undergone during 2026, after he announced he was withdrawing his support for Trump, apologized for “misleading” Americans by previously supporting him, and recently announced his departure from the Republican Party.
The report notes that Carlson's past record includes numerous statements considered anti-Muslim. During his time at Fox News, he hosted activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, criticized the Biden administration's outreach to American Muslims, and defended Trump's travel ban, denying that it targeted Muslims.
Human rights organizations, most notably the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), have long called for his dismissal, accusing him of adopting a “anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, and white supremacist” discourse.
But Carlson has changed his tone since late 2025, describing attacks on American Muslims as “disgusting” and arguing that Islamophobia is being amplified by the Israeli government and its supporters in the United States.
Conversely, his increasing criticism of Israel has drawn accusations of antisemitism, charges he vehemently denies. Newsweek reported that the Anti-Defamation League accused him of promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories, particularly after he hosted white nationalist Nick Fuentes, a Holocaust denier. Carlson later responded that his stance on Israel “has nothing to do with the religion or ethnicity of Israelis, but rather with the policies of their government that are detrimental to the United States.”
The report links these shifts to broader changes in American public opinion. According to the National Islamophobia Index, the adoption of negative stereotypes about Muslims increased between 2022 and 2025, with the partisan divide remaining clear: 82% of Democrats view Muslims favorably compared to only 43% of Republicans.
In contrast, popular support for Israel has declined significantly. According to a Pew Research Center poll in March 2026, 60% of Americans hold a negative view of Israel, while Gallup data showed for the first time since 2001 that Americans' sympathy for Israelis no longer exceeds their sympathy for Palestinians, indicating a notable shift in the American public mood.
Tags:
america
