Right-wing former Fox News journalist Tucker Carlson’s viral 758-word Sunday night tweet warning of a possible Trump nuclear attack on Iran has been viewed more than 67 million times as of Monday afternoon.
It is alarming.
Carlson, who previously has made predictions about Trump and nuclear war (see video below), says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pressuring the Trump administration to launch a nuclear strike against Iran’s Pickax Mountain, where, Carlson writes, Israeli intelligence claims Iran “has restarted its nuclear enrichment program.”
Netanyahu, Carlson claims, has “applied maximum pressure to his closest allies in the administration, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper. Both oppose a negotiated settlement to the war they’ve so grievously mismanaged; both are pushing to restart major combat operations.”
The U.S. has been “sleepwalking toward this moment for months,” says Carlson. “Since February, the administration has quietly rewritten America’s nuclear doctrine to make first use of so-called ‘battlefield nukes’ easier and therefore more likely. No one in Washington in either party seems bothered by this. Now we’re on the brink of it.”
“After the first nuclear strike, World War Three is inevitable,” Carlson warned. “That war would be short and final.”
“Close observers,” he adds, “say Trump is likely to decide by next weekend whether or not to use nuclear weapons. That would be November 7, six days from now. To his credit, he’s hesitating.”
Carlson cited unnamed “close observers” and offered no evidence. His claims remain unverified.
What Carlson does not mention: in April, Trump flatly rejected using a nuclear weapon against Iran.
“A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody,” Trump said.
Reaction split between those urging people to take Carlson seriously and those dismissing him outright.
CNN Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour on Monday responded to Carlson’s tweet, writing: “This would be insane.”
Days before Carlson’s apocalyptic warning, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said he had been briefed on the administration’s plan to restart the Iran war after the election, and called it “insane.” He said he could not disclose details, and he did not mention nuclear weapons.
Two minutes after responding to Carlson’s tweet, Amanpour reposted Sen. Murphy’s video of his remarks.
The Bulwark’s George Conway, a conservative lawyer and longtime ardent Trump critic once considered for a Trump DOJ post, warned of Carlson’s tweet: “Do not discount this. It would not be surprising in the least.”
Meanwhile, Trump on Sunday said of the Iran war, “we'll put it away very soon, one way or the other.”
“Either they'll make a deal, or we'll just end it,” he added.
Drop Site News reporter Ryan Grim wrote, “Tucker is extremely well sourced in the Trump administration and shouldn’t be ignored if this is what he’s being told.”
But political scientist and global political risk expert Ian Bremmer called Carlson’s post “ludicrous and false.”
He wrote that discussion centers on the “mother of all bombs,” which he called “the most powerful conventional weapon” which he said Trump “appears focused on,” and “not at all on a nuclear strike.” A nuclear strike, Bremmer added, “would be a disaster for U.S. foreign policy and standing on every front in the Middle East and beyond.”
The Bulwark’s Tim Miller said Carlson is “both a fabulist and also someone people in the admin call,” but “anyone who thinks there’s a zero percent chance Trump considers using a nuke has their head in the sand.”
Should anyone take Carlson’s warning seriously?
As of Monday afternoon, the group that has been largely mum on Carlson’s tweet is my list of over 100 national security experts.
Sen. Murphy says Trump reportedly plans to restart the war after the election. If Republicans lose both chambers Tuesday, Trump may believe he has one more reason to reach for a show of strength.
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While it's a nightmare to everyone else Chump’s itching to drop a nuke. He's a sociopath and unconcerned with others feelings. It's his orgasmic dream, the dream of every strongman, to wield the ultimate destructive weapon on others who defy him.
People still take seriously the guy who fought a demon in his sleep.