Tucker Carlson claimed that he and his staff were detained at an Israeli airport — but US Ambassador Mike Huckabee said it was merely a routine customs screening.
Carlson — a vocal critic of US-Israel policy who has been accused of using antisemitic language — has traveled to Israel to interview Huckabee, but refused to leave the Ben Gurion Airport complex.
“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 Huckabee about,” the podcaster and ex Fox News host said in a statement to The Post.
“It was bizarre. We’re now out of the country.”
Huckabee rejected Carlson’s claims andwrotethat “EVERYONE who comes in/out of Israel (every country for that matter) has passports checked & routinely asked security questions.”
The ambassador alsoshared a statementfrom the Israel Airports Authority denying all accusations that Carlson’s “entourage” were “denied, delayed, or interrogated.”
“Mr. Carlson and his party were politely asked a few routine questions, in accordance with standard procedures applied to many travelers. The conversation took place in a separate room within the VIP lounge solely to protect their privacy and to avoid conducting such a discussion in public,” the IAA wrote.
When he arrived, Carlsonposted a pictureof himself and his business partner, Neil Patel, in front of the Ben Gurion Airport, captioned “Greetings from Israel.”
Carlson, 56, has veered sharplyinto bashing Israelsince he waspushed out of Fox Newsin 2023.
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Source: Drudge Report
