You don't know the population? Tucker Carlson Grills Ted Cruz on Iran
In a fiery exchange that lit up social media, media personality Tucker Carlson took aim at Senator Ted Cruz over his hawkish stance on Iran — and the senator's apparent unfamiliarity with basic facts about the country he wants to confront.The viral moment came during a two-hour interview, a clip of which Carlson teased on X (formerly Twitter), where he caught Cruz off guard with a simple question: "How many people live in Iran?"advertisementCruz admitted: "I don't know the population."
Carlson shot back, saying, "You don't know the population of the country you seek to topple? It's 92 million. How could you not know that?"NEW: Republican Senator Ted Cruz is completely stumped after Tucker Carlson asks him what the population of Iran is.Tucker: How many people live in Iran?Cruz: I don't know the population.Tucker: You don't know the population of the country you seek to topple?Cruz: How pic.twitter.com/7ES655jIud— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 18, 2025CLASH OF FOREIGN POLICY VIEWSWhile Carlson accused Cruz of ignorance and warmongering, Cruz defended his position by arguing that Iran poses a direct threat to the United States."I want to stop a lunatic who wants to murder us from getting nuclear weapons that could kill millions of Americans," Cruz said. He then accused Carlson of channelling the foreign policy of "Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama."advertisementCarlson didn't miss a beat and said, "Yeah, I'm a big leftist. So silly."The back-and-forth exchanged broader divisions amongst conservatives over how to approach Iran, especially as the Israel-Iran war stretches into its sixth day. Carlson has long criticised US interventionism, while Cruz remains firm in advocating a tough stance.JUST IN: Sparks fly as Senator Ted Cruz accuses Tucker Carlson of having the same foreign policy as Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter.Tucker also said he spoke with President Trump "last night."Cruz: I want to stop a lunatic who wants to m*rder us from getting nuclear weapons pic.twitter.com/nWQ2GfG0yp— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 18, 2025CRUZ FIRES BACK Later, Cruz took to X after the interview clip began circulating, accusing Carlson of cherry-picking soundbites."Did a long interview w/ Tucker. He released a snippet playing a 'gotcha' on the population of Iran. I declined to play that silly game," the senator wrote, urging viewers to watch the full interview.
He also pushed back against what he saw as Carlson's anti-Trump stance and alleged downplaying of Iranian threats, "WATCH the full 2-hr interview, where Tucker ATTACKS Trump, attacks the 'AIPAC lobby,' & falsely claims Iran is NOT trying to assassinate Trump."Must Watch
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