Trump Goon’s Trainwreck Tucker Carlson Interview Sparks Middle East Crisis
The US ambassador has ignited a geopolitical firestorm over a biblical talking point.
President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Israel just lit a diplomatic match and tossed it straight into the Middle East.
In a jaw-dropping interview with Tucker Carlson that aired Friday, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee appeared to endorse the idea that Israel has a biblical right to much of the modern Middle East, triggering swift condemnation from Arab and Muslim nations.
Carlson invoked the Book of Genesis and told Huckabee that God’s promise to Abraham would today encompass land stretching “from the Nile to the Euphrates”—essentially everywhere across Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and large swaths of Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

(L to R) U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visit the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in the old city of Jerusalem on Sept. 14, 2025.
Nathan Howard/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
Carlson pressed: Did Israel have a right to that land?
Huckabee’s response: “It would be fine if they took it all.” He later added that Israel was not looking to expand and has a right to security in the land it “legitimately holds.” But the damage was done.
Mike Huckabee, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, has sparked a serious international diplomatic incident with his comments on Tucker Carlson’s show.
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) February 21, 2026
In a joint statement, the following countries, along with several regional and intergovernmental organizations, formally condemned… pic.twitter.com/TSNjna30I7
In a statement posted on X, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry blasted the comments as “extremist rhetoric” and “unacceptable,” and demanded clarification from the U.S. State Department.
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
A joint statement by at least 14 Arab and Muslim nations, including Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bahrain, Turkey, Lebanon, and Egypt—along with the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the League of Arab States, and the Gulf Cooperation Council, also condemned the remarks.
The Mike Huckabee interview, and the truth about America’s deeply unhealthy relationship with Israel.
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) February 21, 2026
(0:00) Why We Were Interrogated in Israel
(25:38) Why Did Huckabee Meet With American Traitor Jonathan Pollard?
(34:26) Has Huckabee Advocated to Extradite Sex Offenders Who… pic.twitter.com/SDIf9TzdiR
The bloc declared that “Israel has no sovereignty whatsoever over the Occupied Palestinian Territory or any other occupied Arab lands,” flatly rejecting any assertion of further territorial control.
The broad coalition also warned that the ambassador’s remarks violated international law and threatened regional stability.
There was no immediate response from Israel or the White House.

In a jaw-dropping interview with Tucker Carlson that aired Friday, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee appeared to endorse the idea that Israel has a biblical right to much of the modern Middle East.
The Tucker Carlson Show
The backlash lands at an already volatile moment. Israel’s borders have shifted repeatedly since 1948. It captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza during the 1967 war and later withdrew from Gaza in 2005, though settlement expansion in the West Bank has accelerated again in recent years.
Huckabee, a self-described Christian Zionist, was announced as U.S. ambassador to Israel by Trump in 2024. He was confirmed in April 2025.
He has long opposed a two-state solution and denied that Israel is engaged in an illegal occupation of the West Bank. Back in a 2008, he went further, declaring: “There’s really no such thing as a Palestinian.”
The Carlson exchange raised eyebrows for another reason: Huckabee at times appeared unsure when pressed about the sweeping biblical basis upon which he laid his arguments.
“You’re dodging a very obvious question, which is: Where does this right come from?” Carlson asks.
“I’m not sure if I understand your question,” Huckabee responds.
#Statement | The Foreign Ministry expresses its strongest condemnation and complete rejection of the statements made by the United States Ambassador to Israel, in which he recklessly suggested that Israel’s control over the entire Middle East would be acceptable. pic.twitter.com/SEMy5s53z2
— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) February 21, 2026
Whether he fully grasped the diplomatic shockwave his words would trigger, the fallout was immediate.
In a region where borders remain contested, an offhand “take it all” is more than a talking point, it’s a geopolitical accelerant.
Unlock a year of full access to The Looker and The Daily Beast for $35.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Looker and The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Sign in
Login dialog


ADVERTISEMENT
Sign in or create an account
Login dialog
Loading comments…
ADVERTISEMENT