Tucker Carlson ramps up feud with Laura Loomer, accusing her of ‘absurd slander’ over antisemitism accusations
Right-wing media personality Tucker Carlson accused Laura Loomer, a conservative influencer and Trump ally, of “slander” and asked her to stop accusing him of antisemitism, the latest development in the duo’s months-long feud.
In a rarely issued X statement, Carlson responded to Loomer Thursday after she accused him of inciting a car-ramming attack at a Michigan synagogue through his antisemitic language.
“I rarely read the filth you publish, and have never responded to it, for the same reason I avoid pornography. It’s unhealthy and I don’t want to encourage it. But in this specific case I understand exactly what you’re doing and I’d like to stop it now,” Carlson wrote.
“The point of your post is to blame me preemptively for violent attacks on American Jews that you believe are coming. This is an absurd slander of course. I abhor violence against innocents,” Carlson added.
In response to news of an attack on a synagogue in Michigan, Loomer, who has in the past accused Carlson of hating Israel and working for Qatar, claims he has denied, said the former Fox News host had told his audience to “know where their local Chabad is” – a reference to the education and outreach movement within Hasidic Judaism.
Last week, Carlson bolstered a theory that IDF soldiers were wearing “Third Temple” patches on their uniforms that were given by Chabad. The Third Temple is a hypothetical vision of rebuilding a place of worship where the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem currently sit.
Carlson insinuated that the alleged patches worn by IDF members indicated a motivation for the war with Iran could be to expedite the physical building of the Third Temple – elevating an antisemitic incitement narrative, the Combat Antisemitism Movement said.
Rabbi Yaacov Behrman, a Chabad community leader in Brooklyn, refused Carlson’s insinuation, calling it “dangerous blood libel.”
However, he denied Loomer’s allegation that he had suggested his audience “know” where their local Chabad is – seemingly to prepare for or stage an attack.
Carlson addressed Loomer’s consistent allegations that he is against Jewish people, saying, “I also vehemently oppose punishing anyone on the basis of bloodline.”
“I am therefore strongly opposed to anti-Semitism, precisely as much as I am to the anti-Arab hate you promote,” Carlson said.
Carlson denies being antisemitic, but last year, he was heavily scrutinized for giving white supremacist Nick Fuentes a platform. Carlson’s frequent criticisms of Israel’s offense in Gaza have also incited allegations of antisemitism, which he also denies.
Meanwhile, Loomer, a close ally of President Donald Trump, has a long history of making Islamophobic statements. She’s called herself a “proud Islamophobe” and called Islam a “a cancer on humanity.”
Loomer responded to Carlson’s statement with more allegations that the conservative podcast host was “trying to sabotage” Vice President JD Vance’s presidential campaign – which does not exist.
“At this point, I believe the sabotage is deliberate. Is Tucker planning on backing Tulsi Gabbard for President? You’d have to be blind to not see what’s happening,” Loomer wrote.
Loomer, a close ally of the president, has used her platform and association with Trump to get people she deems unfaithful fired.
The growing feud between the two has only been exacerbated by the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran. Carlson vehemently opposes the war and has been highly critical of Trump’s decision to strike Iran. While Loomer has been supportive of Trump’s attack.
Trump has publicly distanced himself from Carlson as a result, claiming the former Fox News host “lost his way.” But other formerly MAGA-aligned officials have sided with Carlson, including former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who endorsed Carlson for president.
