Do We Have Tucker Carlson to Thank for Trump Calling Off US-Iran War?

Has been advising Trump for weeks now The Daily Beast claims

Carlson for National Security Advisor!

In the upper echelons of the Trump administration, hawkish voices on Iran predominate—most notably Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton. But as tensions between the U.S. and Iran have escalated over the last few weeks, there’s been another, far different voice in the president’s ear: that of Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

A source familiar with the conversations told The Daily Beast that, in recent weeks, the Fox News host has privately advised Trump against taking military action against Iran. And a senior administration official said that during the president’s recent conversations with the Fox primetime host, Carlson has bashed the more “hawkish members” of his administration.

While some Fox News hosts have argued that a conflict with Iran would be justified, Carlson has consistently criticized U.S. military intervention abroad, particularly in the Middle East. In recent weeks, he has questioned whether war with Iran would be “in anyone’s interest.” Last month, he publicly chided Boltonsaying he was intentionally escalating tensions, and that a potential conflict would “be like Christmas, Thanksgiving, his birthday wrapped into one.”

During a Monday night segment devoted to the recent attack on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, Carlson invoked the faulty intelligence leading up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The Fox News host compared Pompeo’s “misplaced certainty” that Iran attacked the tankers to former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s now-discredited claim that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.

“We’re still paying a price for that,” Carlson said.

In May 2018, the Trump administration began rolling out a maximum pressure campaign directed at Iran. Their stated goal was to damage the Iranian economy, limit the government’s ability to fund foreign terrorist groups, and force Iran back to the negotiating table for a second nuclear deal. And in April, the administration rolled out a series of hawkish moves that had made prior administrations blanch: designating Iran’s military as a terrorist organization and instituting sanctions on all Iranian oil exports, no exceptions.

In response to those moves, U.S. intel officials said, the Iranian government pushed back, causing further escalated tensions. One source familiar with the intel said the chief of Iran’s Quds Force, its military’s covert action arm, had directed proxy fighters in Iraq to prepare for a fight with the United States. Pompeo later directed the evacuation of some civilian U.S. officials from Iraq, though the nature and scope of the threat wasn’t clear.

And then came the tanker attacks. Late last week, two oil tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz—one Norwegian and the other Japanese—were attacked. There were no casualties, and no evidence of oil spills. But the images of smoke pouring out of the sides of the hulking ships shocked the world and sent oil prices soaring. The Trump administration and the British government quickly attributed the attacks to the Iranians. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas initially said that U.S. evidence was “not enough” to show Iran was responsible for the attack. But Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that there was “strong evidence” pointing to Iran.

Some Trump allies responded to the tanker attacks with calls for military action. Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, told CBS’ Margaret Brennan that the moves justify military retaliation.

The president, meanwhile, took a vastly different tone—less Cotton, more Carlson. In a Time interview published Monday evening, he dismissed the oil tanker attacks, saying, “So far, it’s been very minor.”

The president has made no secret of his affinity for Carlson.

Since taking office, Trump has live-tweeted episodes of Tucker Carlson Tonight on at least 20 separate occasions, often promoting or directly quoting the eponymous host or his guests.

Source: The Daily Beast

4 Comments
  1. thomas malthaus says
  2. mijj says

    i reckon Trump and his crew are indulging in a little theatre for Iran’s benefit.
    Trumps Crew: Let’s attack them. Go on. It’s time. They deserve it.
    Trump: You know what? Maybe not today.
    Trumps Crew: Oh, ok then. But if they so much as …
    Trump: (to audience) .. i don’t know how long i can hold them back. I hope Iran backs down soon.

  3. John C Carleton says

    Carlson is an inside Rat’s minion pretending to be opposition.

    The groundswell of Americans saying not no, But HELL NO!!!!, so far has stopped the USA attacking Iran for Israhell’s benefit.

    Trump has to get permission from Tel Aviv to use the restroom attached to the Oval Office, in the big white Cat House, located in Sodom and Gomorrah on the Potomac.

  4. JustPassingThrough says

    Do We Have Tucker Carlson to Thank for Trump Calling Off US-Iran War?
    It would nice if it were true.

    The lowlife, “bloody gina”, “rapture ready” pompeo and “certified psycho” bolton are surely the worst collection of non-humans D.T. could get to advise him.
    It would be nice to think that D.T. didn’t trust their biased opinions.

    It would be nice to think that he valued 150 IR lives more than the 120 million$$ not-ready-for-prime-time drone but i doubt it.

    Imo, it would be more realistic to think that oil today would be north of 400$$ per barrel.
    Gold would be north of 1800.00$$/oz
    The worlds stock mkts. would be heading into oblivion.
    Proxy forces would be ravaging u.s. bases in the ME and probably israhell itself.
    Then there is the Black sea still full of NATO flotsam.
    Shipping in the Hormuz would be dead for months if not for years to come.
    The u.s. itself would probably be under attack internally.
    All its carriers snuggling safely in E. coast and W. coast ports, prime targets
    No allies to back him up. And here i would include the absence of israhell and Saudi Arabia.

    The demo-rats would crucify him with the help of the retard-licans.
    He could forget the 2020 elections.

    Then there is CN and RU and a couple of lesser lights that may come after him.

    I’m rooting for the Tuck, in any event

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