New statements by conservative American political commentator Tucker Carlson regarding President Donald Trump’s stance on the war with Iran have sparked renewed calls to activate the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution, which allows for the removal of the president from his duties if he is deemed incapable of performing the responsibilities of the office.
Carlson said that he spoke with Trump at the White House days before the war broke out, and that the president said during the conversation, according to his account: "In the end, we all die anyway, so it doesn't matter."
Carlson explained that he visited Trump in the Oval Office in late February, after returning from Tel Aviv, where he had interviewed the US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee.
Carlson said he told Trump that, during a two-hour discussion with Huckabee, he concluded that the war the United States and Israel were about to launch against Iran was not only aimed at ending the Iranian nuclear program, as Trump had said, but also at ending Iran's "regional power" and reducing the influence of the Gulf states, ultimately leading to the United States being expelled from the Middle East, according to his interpretation of what he heard from Huckabee.
He added that Trump expressed his annoyance at his criticism of Israel’s policy, and that he warned him against being drawn into military action against Iran as a result of pressure from the Israeli government.
According to Carlson, Trump responded by saying, "Yes, you're right, but in the end we all die anyway, so it doesn't matter."
Carlson added, "I said to him, shocked, 'What about our children, our grandchildren, and our country?'" noting that Trump made a sound and then the conversation ended. Carlson said this was a "verbatim account" of what transpired between them.
He added: “I was shocked by that. People’s lives or deaths matter, and the future matters.”
Carlson’s account sparked political and media reactions, with journalist Ryan Grim of DropSite News describing the talk as “very disturbing,” and saying that what Carlson revealed should bring up the issue of resorting to the 25th Amendment again.
But journalist Pedro L. Gonzalez was cautious about treating Carlson’s account as fact, citing his current opposition to Trump, at a time when Carlson said that calls to remove the president from office began before this interview.
Carlson noted that Trump’s April threat to destroy “the entire civilization” in Iran was, in his view, sufficient reason to consider invoking the 25th Amendment, which requires constitutional procedures beginning with the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet.
Carlson had previously said he felt “regret” for supporting Trump, as his positions on the war with Iran and the US-Israeli relationship became more critical of the president.
These statements come at a time when the war on Iran has sparked a debate within the United States about Israel’s role in pushing Washington into the conflict, an issue that Foreign Minister Marco Rubio also said in previous statements was pushed by Israel into the war by the US administration.
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