Tucker Carlson officially dumps the Republican party - though he’s not becoming a Democrat

Josh Marcus Mon, June 22, 2026 at 10:13 PM UTC

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Tucker Carlson says he can no longer support the Republican or Democratic parties (AFP/Getty)

Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson is officially breaking with the Republican Party after spending decades as one of its most influential backers in the media.

On a recent episode of the Can’t Be Censored podcast, Carlson accused the party of “treasonous” actions and putting the interests of corporate donors and Israel above those of American citizens, especially regarding the Iran war.

“I would not support the Republican Party,” Carlson said. “There’s no chance I would support the Republican Party. I’m not going to support the Democratic Party — I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“I voted Republican my entire life,” the podcaster continued. “I worked at Fox News, CNN, MSNBC. I’ve been a consistent defender for 35 years of the Republican Party, — I mean, a very consistent defender. There’s no defending this because it’s amoral and it’s exactly the opposite of what a political party in a democracy is charged with doing, which is representing its own voters, its own citizens, its own nation. And they’re not doing that.”

Carlson added that his defection, as well as polling showing the Iran war is unpopular, should serve as a wake-up call for the Republican Party.

“If I’m out, then I think a lot of other people are out,” he said.

The Independent has contacted the Republican National Committee for comment.

“President Trump campaigned proudly on his promise to deny the Iranian regime the ability to develop a nuclear weapon, which is what this noble operation accomplishes,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement to The Independent. “The President does not make these incredibly important national security decisions based on fluid opinion polls or podcast hosts, but on the best interest of the American people.”

Carlson’s comments come after months of public feuding between him and party leaders.

In April, he accused the Trump administration of failing to run the country well and pursuing unnecessary foreign wars, publicly apologizing for having campaigned on Trump’s behalf.

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Carlson said he was “tormented by it” and that he was “sorry for misleading people.”

That month, Carlson also criticized the president after he told Iran to “open the F***in’ Strait” of Hormuz or they would be “living in Hell.”

“Who do you think you are?” Carlson said on his show. “You’re tweeting out the f-word on Easter morning?

Carlson has been feuding with the president for months over the Iran war and Israel (AFP/Getty)

This spring, amid Carlson’s frequent scathing criticism of the Iran war and influence of Israel on U.S. foreign policy, President Trump fired back that Carlson had “lost his way” and was no longer a part of the MAGA movement.

“I knew that a long time ago, and he's not MAGA. MAGA is saving our country,” the president said in an interview in March.

Former congressman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has suffered a similar falling out with the party and the president, in part over positions on foreign wars and Israel.

"What the American people voted for with MAGA was to put the American people first,” she said in a November interview on CNN. “Stop sending foreign aid, and stop being involved in foreign wars...They very much deserve to be put first. Cost of living is far too high. Health insurance is completely out of control, and that’s – those are two issues I’ve been very vocal on for months and months now.”

She has also accused the Trump administration of backing Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza.

The Iran war has remained highly unpopular with voters, polling shows (AFP/Getty)

Israel has been a consistent wedge between Carlson and much of the GOP, and the podcaster faced allegations of antisemitism for his friendly 2025 interview with white supremacist Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.

A large majority of Americans want the Iran war to end and think the costs of the war did not justify the result, according to a CBS poll released on Sunday.

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Source: “AOL Breaking”