Tucker Carlson recently traveled to Israel after an interview request with President Donald Trump’s ambassador to the country, Mike Huckabee. However, since then, Carlson shared a “bizarre” experience in which he was detained afterwards. Since the story has come out, Huckabee has also discussed the story on social media.
Tucker Carlson Recently Shared A Statement Following A Recent Trip To Israel
Carlson is a commentator who hosts the political podcast, The Tucker Carlson Show. Prior to this, he had a long history in broadcast journalism.
Carlson hosted his namesake nightly political show, Tucker Carlson Tonight, from 2016 to 2023 for Fox News. Before joining the network, he also worked for CNN and MSNBC.
The Fox News alum had previously flown into Tel Aviv for a sit-down with Mike Huckabee, who was confirmed in this role last year. Recently, however, Carlson later claimed that he was detained at an Israeli airport following his interview with Donald Trump’s ambassador to the country.
At the time, Carlson shared, “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 [Mike] Huckabee about. It was bizarre. We’re now out of the country.”
Mike Huckabee Painted A Different Picture Of What Happened Following Carlson’s Share
Huckabee previously challenged Carlson to speak to him after an online spat concerning the country’s treatment of Christians. Carlson, who agreed to have an interview with Huckabee, is also known to criticize the country’s military actions in Gaza.
Before the interview, Carlson shared a photo of himself on X and his business partner, Neil Patel, in front of Ben Gurion Airport. The post had a caption reading, “Greetings from Israel.”
Greetings from Israel. pic.twitter.com/1uBWvqBNST
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) February 18, 2026
As the outlet noted, inside sources, said to be familiar with the matter, claimed that the government didn’t originally want Carlson in the country. This led to a careful negotiation with the State Department. Citing a Channel 13 report, the Israeli government decided to allow him into the country to avoid a “diplomatic incident.”
However, since the news had come out, Huckabee himself shared a statement rejecting Carlson’s claims. Taking to X, he shared an image of an updated Daily Mail News account of the story with his statement. In a caption, he also shared, “EVERYONE who comes in/out of Israel (every country for that matter) has passports checked & routinely asked security questions. Even ME going in/out with Diplomatic Passport & Diplomatic Visa.”
Thanks @EFischberger for a more accurate report. EVERYONE who comes in/out of Israel (every country for that matter) has passports checked & routinely asked security questions. Even ME going in/out with Diplomatic Passport & Diplomatic Visa. https://t.co/UbblLiznMO
— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) February 18, 2026
In a statement attributed to a spokesperson, it was denied that Israel was only allowing Tucker into the country for the interview. It was also claimed that the Embassy’s involvement was mostly limited to arranging his private plane landing. It was also claimed that it was Tucker’s own decision to stay within the country for a few hours before leaving.
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John Witiw has been a writer since at least 2015. He’s covered a variety of topics, especially when it comes to film and television.
