Tucker Carlson was captured on security footage at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, casting doubt on his claim that he was detained there on Wednesday.
The former Fox News host, known for his critical stance on Israel and promotion of antisemitic conspiracy theories, visited Tel Aviv briefly to interview U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee.
Amid online criticism suggesting Carlson was unwilling to leave the airport, he made the surprising assertion that he had been detained.
According to Carlson, he and his executive producer were taken “into a side room” by airport security, who allegedly demanded details about their conversation with Ambassador Huckabee.
However, surveillance footage shared by OliLondonTV offers a different narrative.
The video depicts Carlson, accompanied by a colleague, casually standing with an airport employee near a security checkpoint.
After appearing to complete a form of some kind laid out on the table, Carlson posed for a picture with the eager airport staffer. The pair took a few quick snaps before Carlson collected his coat and followed the man to the other side of the room, according to the video.
The footage fell more in line with the Israel Airports Authority’s timeline of events, in which it rejected Carlson’s fantastical narrative outright.
“Mr. Carlson and his party were politely asked a few routine questions, in accordance with standard procedures applied to many travelers,” the IAA wrote in a statement Wednesday.
The security team, recognizing Carlson’s renown, even conducted the conversation in “the VIP lounge solely to protect their privacy,” the IAA added.
Huckabee also said the so-called detainment was merely a routine customs screening.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett bashed Carlson for his blatant lies in a scathing post on X.
“Tucker Carlson is chickensh-t,” Bennett wrote.
“Next time he talks about Israel as if he’s some expert, just remember this guy is a phony!” he added.
David Friedman, the US ambassador to Israel during Trump’s first term, echoed Bennett’s fiery sentiment.
“Too bad Tucker stayed in the airport in the face of so many invitations to see so many wonderful places. A huge and obviously intentional missed opportunity,” Friedman wrote on X.
Many immediately questioned Carlson’s account, given his lengthy history of platforming antisemitic voices on his independent stream “The Tucker Carlson Show” — including widely condemned Nazi lovers like Nick Fuentes.
