Ted Cruz Trolls 'Fact-Free' Tucker Carlson With 'Objective Fact'
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After the heated and combative interview between Republican Senator Ted Cruz and right-wing media host Tucker Carlson went viral online, Cruz accused the conservative commentator of being "utterly fact-free" in his views on Iran and U.S. foreign policy.
Why It Matters
Cruz's clash with Carlson took place during a two-hour interview that Carlson later posted on X, where the former Fox News host challenged Cruz over his support for regime change in Iran.
The two debated a range of issues, focusing on U.S. involvement in Iran and Carlson's claim that Cruz prioritizes Israel too heavily in his foreign policy.
Their exchange came amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran, which were sparked when Israel launched airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and military targets, killing several senior scientists and officers. Iran quickly retaliated, most recently hitting a major Israeli hospital in a strike the Israeli government said crossed a "red line."
Senator Ted Cruz, chairman Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, leads the committee's questioning of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Chair and CEO Lisa Su, CoreWeave CEO Michael Intrator and Microsoft...
Senator Ted Cruz, chairman Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, leads the committee's questioning of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Chair and CEO Lisa Su, CoreWeave CEO Michael Intrator and Microsoft Corporation President and Vice Chair Brad Smith in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 08, 2025 in Washington, DC. More
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In a post on X on Thursday, responding to commentator Matt Walsh's commentary about the interview, Cruz wrote, "I agree that it was interesting. But it would have more so had Tucker not been utterly fact-free."
"'I've never heard of Iran trying to kill [President Donald Trump]!' [high-pitched laughter]," Cruz wrote, mocking the former Fox News host.
The Texas senator then brought up a Department of Justice indictment, writing that "it's an objective fact." The indictment charges Farhad Shakeri, an Iranian operative, with plotting to assassinate Trump.
1/x @MattWalshBlog I agree that it was interesting. But it would have more so had Tucker not been utterly fact-free.
'I've never heard of Iran trying to kill Trump!' [high-pitched laughter]
It's an objective fact. Here's the DOJ indictment: https://t.co/vkFJDNb8S2 https://t.co/cX6nTbRI3m — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) June 19, 2025
During the interview, Carlson pressed Cruz on fundamental knowledge of Iran, beginning with a question about the country's population. When Cruz said he didn't know, Carlson replied, "You don't know the population of the country you seek to topple?"
The former Fox News host posted the clip online and it quickly went viral, drawing tens of millions of views and sparking widespread debate among those on both sides of the political aisle.
Cruz defended his record and turned the conversation toward the threat posed by Iran, citing the DOJ's indictment of Farhad Shakeri. "You're the one who claims they're not trying to murder Donald Trump," Cruz told Carlson, referencing the alleged plot.
"You're the one who can't figure out if it was a good idea to kill General Soleimani and you said it was bad," Cruz added.
Carlson countered that Cruz was downplaying the implications of advocating for military action without understanding the country in question.
"You're a senator who's calling for an overthrow of the government and you don't know anything about the country," Carlson said.
In a follow-up exchange, Cruz said the U.S. is currently helping Israel conduct strikes on Iranian targets. "We are carrying out military strikes today," he said.
Carlson interrupted to point out that Israel was leading the campaign, to which Cruz replied, "With our help. I said 'we'—Israel is leading but we're supporting them."
When Carlson asked if Cruz knew Iran's population, the senator replied that he didn't "sit around memorizing population tables," prompting Carlson to say: "You don't know the population of the country you seek to topple?"
Carlson's rhetoric toward Trump has been increasingly critical, with the longtime supporter—who headlined large rallies with the Republican during the 2024 campaign—this week suggesting that the president was breaking his pledge to keep the United States out of foreign entanglements.
Trump clapped back at Carlson on social media, calling him "kooky."
During an event at the White House later Wednesday, Trump said that Carlson had "called and apologized" for criticizing him, saying Carlson "is a nice guy."
What People Are Saying
Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday night: "Somebody please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that, 'IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!'"
Steve Bannon, former chief strategist to Donald Trump, said on his show, "The War Room": "Come on, man. We have to have an adult conversation. We're not going to let the shills at Fox—the same exact crowd that said the same thing about the Iraq War—force the President of the United States into a corner. He needs a range of options."
Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show, commented on his weekly podcast: "You've got Tucker Carlson going, 'Why are we going to war with Iran again?' And I'm like, 'Yeah, you tell him, brother!' That's how f---ing upside down we are right now."
What Happens Next
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will make a decision on whether or not to have the United States join Israel's war with Iran "within the next two weeks."
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10 years after Europe's migration crisis, the fallout reverberates in Greece and beyond
LESBOS, Greece (AP) — Fleeing Iran with her husband and toddler, Amena Namjoyan reached a rocky beach of this eastern Greek island along with hundreds of thousands of others. For months, their arrival overwhelmed Lesbos. Boats fell apart, fishermen dove to save people from drowning, and local grandmothers bottle-fed newly arrived babies. Namjoyan spent months in an overcrowded camp. She learned Greek. She struggled with illness and depression as her marriage collapsed. She tried to make a fresh start in Germany but eventually returned to Lesbos, the island that first embraced her. Today, she works at a restaurant, preparing Iranian dishes that locals devour, even if they struggle to pronounce the names. Her second child tells her, ''I'm Greek.'' 'Greece is close to my culture, and I feel good here,' Namjoyan said. 'I am proud of myself.' In 2015, more than 1 million migrants and refugees arrived in Europe — the majority by sea, landing in Lesbos, where the north shore is just 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Turkey . The influx of men, women and children fleeing war and poverty sparked a humanitarian crisis that shook the European Union to its core. A decade later, the fallout still reverberates on the island and beyond. For many, Greece was a place of transit. They continued on to northern and western Europe. Many who applied for asylum were granted international protection; thousands became European citizens . Countless more were rejected, languishing for years in migrant camps or living in the streets. Some returned to their home countries. Others were kicked out of the European Union. For Namjoyan, Lesbos is a welcoming place — many islanders share a refugee ancestry, and it helps that she speaks their language. But migration policy in Greece, like much of Europe, has shifted toward deterrence in the decade since the crisis. Far fewer people are arriving illegally. Officials and politicians have maintained that strong borders are needed. Critics say enforcement has gone too far and violates fundamental EU rights and values. 'Migration is now at the top of the political agenda, which it didn't use to be before 2015,' said Camille Le Coz Director of the Migration Policy Institute Europe, noting changing EU alliances. 'We are seeing a shift toward the right of the political spectrum.' A humanitarian crisis turned into a political one In 2015, boat after boat crowded with refugees crashed onto the doorstep of Elpiniki Laoumi, who runs a fish tavern across from a Lesbos beach. She fed them, gave them water, made meals for aid organizations. 'You would look at them and think of them as your own children,' said Laoumi, whose tavern walls today are decorated with thank-you notes. From 2015 to 2016, the peak of the migration crisis, more than 1 million people entered Europe through Greece alone. The immediate humanitarian crisis — to feed, shelter and care for so many people at once — grew into a long-term political one. Greece was reeling from a crippling economic crisis. The influx added to anger against established political parties, fueling the rise of once-fringe populist forces. EU nations fought over sharing responsibility for asylum seekers. The bloc's unity cracked as some member states flatly refused to take migrants. Anti-migration voices calling for closed borders became louder. Today, illegal migration is down across Europe While illegal migration to Greece has fluctuated, numbers are nowhere near 2015-16 figures, according to the International Organization for Migration. Smugglers adapted to heightened surveillance, shifting to more dangerous routes . Overall, irregular EU border crossings decreased by nearly 40% last year and continue to fall, according to EU border and coast guard agency Frontex. That hasn't stopped politicians from focusing on — and sometimes fearmongering over — migration. This month, the Dutch government collapsed after a populist far-right lawmaker withdrew his party's ministers over migration policy. In Greece, the new far-right migration minister has threatened rejected asylum seekers with jail time . A few miles from where Namjoyan now lives, in a forest of pine and olive trees, is a new EU-funded migrant center. It's one of the largest in Greece and can house up to 5,000 people. Greek officials denied an Associated Press request to visit. Its opening is blocked, for now, by court challenges. Some locals say the remote location seems deliberate — to keep migrants out of sight and out of mind. 'We don't believe such massive facilities are needed here. And the location is the worst possible – deep inside a forest,' said Panagiotis Christofas, mayor of Lesbos' capital, Mytilene. 'We're against it, and I believe that's the prevailing sentiment in our community.' A focus on border security For most of Europe, migration efforts focus on border security and surveillance. The European Commission this year greenlighted the creation of 'return' hubs — a euphemism for deportation centers — for rejected asylum seekers. Italy has sent unwanted migrants to its centers in Albania , even as that faces legal challenges . Governments have resumed building walls and boosting surveillance in ways unseen since the Cold War. In 2015, Frontex was a small administrative office in Warsaw. Now, it's the EU's biggest agency, with 10,000 armed border guards, helicopters, drones and an annual budget of over 1 billion euros. On other issues of migration — reception, asylum and integration, for example — EU nations are largely divided. The legacy of Lesbos Last year, EU nations approved a migration and asylum pact laying out common rules for the bloc's 27 countries on screening, asylum, detention and deportation of people trying to enter without authorization, among other things. 'The Lesbos crisis of 2015 was, in a way, the birth certificate of the European migration and asylum policy ,' Margaritis Schinas, a former European Commission vice president and a chief pact architect, told AP. He said that after years of fruitless negotiations, he's proud of the landmark compromise. 'We didn't have a system,' Schinas said. 'Europe's gates had been crashed.' The deal, endorsed by the United Nations refugee agency, takes effect next year. Critics say it made concessions to hardliners. Human rights organizations say it will increase detention and erode the right to seek asylum. Some organizations also criticize the 'externalization' of EU border management — agreements with countries across the Mediterranean to aggressively patrol their coasts and hold migrants back in exchange for financial assistance. The deals have expanded, from Turkey to the Middle East and across Africa . Human rights groups say autocratic governments are pocketing billions and often subject the displaced to appalling conditions . Lesbos still sees some migrants arrive Lesbos' 80,000 residents look back at the 2015 crisis with mixed feelings. Fisherman Stratos Valamios saved some children. Others drowned just beyond his reach, their bodies still warm as he carried them to shore. 'What's changed from back then to now, 10 years on? Nothing,' he said. 'What I feel is anger — that such things can happen, that babies can drown.' Those who died crossing to Lesbos are buried in two cemeteries, their graves marked as 'unknown.' Tiny shoes and empty juice boxes with faded Turkish labels can still be found on the northern coast. So can black doughnut-shaped inner tubes, given by smugglers as crude life preservers for children. At Moria , a refugee camp destroyed by fire in 2020, children's drawings remain on gutted building walls. Migrants still arrive, and sometimes die , on these shores. Lesbos began to adapt to a quieter, more measured flow of newcomers. Efi Latsoudi, who runs a network helping migrants learn Greek and find jobs, hopes Lesbos' tradition of helping outsiders in need will outlast national policies. 'The way things are developing, it's not friendly for newcomers to integrate into Greek society,' Latsoudi said. 'We need to do something. ... I believe there is hope.' ____ Brito reported from Barcelona, Spain. AP journalists Petros Giannakouris in Lesbos and Theodora Tongas in Athens contributed. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. 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