US embassy debunks Tucker Carlson's claim he and his team were 'detained' in Israel

Tucker Carlson was slammed on social media after claiming that he and members of his team were briefly detained and questioned by Israeli security officials at Ben Gurion Airport, an account disputed by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who called the encounter a routine customs and security screening. 

According to the New York Post, Carlson, who has become a massive critic of the Jewish state in recent years, claimed that “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.” Carlson described the experience as “bizarre,” adding that his team was now out of the country.

Huckabee pushed back publicly, arguing that the incident was being mischaracterized. “EVERYONE who comes in/out of Israel (every country for that matter) has passports checked & routinely asked security questions,” he wrote on X. Huckabee also shared a statement attributed to the Israel Airports Authority (IAA) denying that Carlson’s “entourage” was “denied, delayed, or interrogated.”

According to the IAA statement, Carlson and his party were “politely asked a few routine questions,” consistent with procedures applied to many travelers. The conversation, the statement said, took place in a separate room inside the VIP lounge “solely to protect their privacy” and avoid conducting security questioning in public.

A US Embassy spokesperson told The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI that it was “not accurate” that Israel was going to allow Carlson into the country only for the interview. The spokesperson said the embassy’s only involvement was coordinating the landing of Carlson’s private plane “as part of facilitating a seamless visit.” The spokesperson added that Carlson chose to remain only a few hours and depart, receiving "the same positive treatment of any visitors to Israel." The interview took place at the VIP airport lounge, and Carlson received “the same passport control questions that countless visitors to Israel, including Ambassador Huckabee and other diplomats, receive as part of normal entrance and exit.”

Carlson traveled to Israel to interview Huckabee but did not leave the airport complex. When he arrived, Carlson posted a photo of himself and business partner Neil Patel in front of Ben Gurion Airport with the caption, “Greetings from Israel.”

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett blasted Carlson on X, calling him a “chickensh*t,” accusing him of staging the visit for optics and fabricating the airport incident. Bennett said Carlson “didn’t even step foot in the country” then “made up a story that he’s being supposedly harassed by our security,” before returning to his private jet and departing.

David Friedman, the former US ambassador to Israel during President Donald Trump’s first term, wrote that Carlson’s decision to remain at the airport was an “obviously intentional missed opportunity,” given what he said were invitations to visit sites around the country.

Since leaving Fox News in 2023, Carlson has launched an independent program, The Tucker Carlson Show, where he has amplified guests who have made antisemitic claims, ranging from Darryl Cooper to Nick Fuentes, who has called himself an admirer of Adolf Hitler. While talking to Fuentes, Carlson said Huckabee was “seized by this brain virus” of supporting Israel, adding, “I dislike [Christian Zionists] more than anybody.” At Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s memorial service, Carlson suggested that Israel was behind the conservative commentator’s assassination. Advocacy group StopAntisemitism named Carlson its “Antisemite of the Year” in December 2025.