Fox News' Tucker Carlson says a war with Iran would be like 'Christmas' for John Bolton

Tucker Carlson on Fox News.
(Image credit: Screenshot/Fox News)

Fox News' Tucker Carlson sounds pretty concerned about National Security Adviser John Bolton's influence in the White House and a potential U.S. war with Iran.

Carlson in a Tuesday segment sounded the alarm after The New York Times reported the Trump administration was reviewing a plan to potentially send 120,000 troops to the Middle East as it warns of threats to U.S. interests. Trump on Tuesday denied the report but said he would do so and send even more troops than that.

"More than anything in the world, National Security Adviser John Bolton would love to have a war with Iran," Carlson said. "It would be like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and his birthday wrapped into one."

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Carlson went on to say that Bolton "mercifully" doesn't control the military, but he questioned how much "influence" he has in the White House, clearly hoping the answer is not very much. After all, he asked, "How is a war with Iran in America's interests in any way?"

This question was posted to a retired army colonel who concluded that it doesn't, also warning of a "manufactured crisis" and the potential for another Gulf of Tonkin incident. Carlson concluded that not only Bolton, but also MSNBC and CNN, are "agitating for" a war with Iran, which he said is "chilling."

In this respect, Carlson shares some unexpected common ground with Cenk Uygur, the host of the liberal talk show The Young Turks, who tweeted after this segment that Carlson is "the only anchor on cable forcefully advocating for peace," a sign of the "bizarro world we live in." Watch Carlson's segment below. Brendan Morrow

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.