Conservative commentator and Israel critic Tucker Carlson met with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee for an interview at Ben-Gurion Airport, after which Carlson claimed he was detained by Israeli authorities, a claim the US embassy and the ambassador deny.
Although Huckabee suggested Carlson stay in Israel, the former Fox host refused to leave the VIP terminal of the airport. Those familiar with the interview told The Jerusalem Post it focused on the way Christians are treated in Israel and in the region.
Following the interview, Carlson told the Daily Mail: “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.”
A spokesperson for the US embassy in Israel denied that Carlson was detained: “It is not accurate that Israel was only going to let Tucker into the country for the interview,” the spokesperson said, according to the Daily Mail.
The embassy said its sole coordination with Israeli authorities related to arranging the landing of Carlson’s private aircraft to ensure a smooth visit. It emphasized that Carlson himself opted to enter the country only briefly before departing and that he was treated no differently than any other visitor to Israel.
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Ambassador Huckabee also addressed the claims, disputing the suggestion that Carlson had been singled out and forcibly detained. Writing on X, the ambassador said that all passengers are subject to passport checks and security questioning at Israeli airports, including senior officials. Huckabee noted that he himself undergoes the same procedures despite holding a diplomatic passport and visa.
He also called out media outlets for running with the “false story” of Carlson being “detained” by Israeli authorities in an X post.
Well @LauraLoomer [2] again scoops the MSM who ran with the false story of Tucker being “detained.” As @usembassyjlm [3] & Israel Airport Authority confirmed Tucker had to have his passport reviewed & answer same security questions EVERYONE does. https://t.co/D0lUSEwMNg [4]
— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) February 19, 2026 [5]
The meeting was prompted by a dialogue between the two following Carlson’s podcast episode in early February called “Christian Persecution.” Interviews with Jerusalem’s Anglican archbishop and a Jordanian businessman gave the impression that Christians face significant persecution in Israel.
Ambassador Huckabee responded to Carlson’s criticisms of Christian Zionists by writing on X: “Hey @TuckerCarlson instead of talking ABOUT me, why don’t you come talk TO me?” Carlson publicly agreed to a face-to-face conversation.
In addition to Carlson, former US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene visited Israel earlier in the week to highlight what she called “Christian persecution.”
Ambassador Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister and former governor of Arkansas, defended Christian Zionism in late January after Jerusalem church leaders attacked it as a damaging ideology.
In a podcast interview, when asked if Carlson was anti-Semitic, Ambassador Huckabee responded: “If he’s not, he’s hiding his love for Jews very carefully. This is not the Tucker Carlson I’ve known since 1991.”