Tucker Carlson says Trump should be removed from office ‘immediately’
Tucker Carlson, former longtime supporter of President Donald Trump who has shifted into an increasingly vocal critic, said the president should be removed from office “immediately” over what Carlson described as the prospect of the U.S. military initiating the use of nuclear weapons in the war with Iran.
The conservative pundit and former Fox News host made the remarks on The Tucker Carlson Show during a discussion about the risk of nuclear escalation in the U.S.-Israeli conflict against Iran.
“I was strongly opposed” to the two impeachment attempts against Trump, Carlson said on the podcast released Friday, calling the efforts “absurd.”
But Carlson said the possibility of a president considering the first use of nuclear weapons crosses a “red line.”
“Destroying all of humanity with a nuclear strike? So why isn’t there an attempt to remove him from office, like immediately?” Carlson said.
“Any leader of any country who suggests first use of nuclear weapons has forfeited his right to lead. He has to be removed immediately. I think that’s just a fair standard,” he added.
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email late Friday night for comment and did not immediately hear back.
Carlson claimed that discussions about the use of tactical nuclear weapons have taken place at the Pentagon and accused Trump of repeatedly suggesting that nuclear weapons could be used against Iran.
“The president of the United States has repeatedly suggested using nuclear weapons in the war against Iran,” Carlson said.
He pointed to Trump’s warning in April that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran failed to meet U.S. demands, characterizing the president’s remarks as a nuclear threat.
Carlson’s Break With Trump
Carlson’s remarks come amid a widening split with Trump, driven in large part by disagreements over U.S. foreign policy and the war with Iran.
In June, Carlson announced that he was breaking with the Republican Party, saying that he would no longer support the GOP. He has also said he plans to help build a third party.
Earlier this month, Carlson described nuclear war and artificial intelligence as the “two biggest threats in all of history,” saying those in positions of authority were “frozen” in responding to them.
Trump and Nuclear Weapons
Trump’s rhetoric toward Iran has drawn scrutiny as tensions with Tehran have escalated. The president has repeatedly warned that Iran must not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon and has used increasingly forceful language when discussing the consequences of Tehran failing to comply with U.S. demands.
In April, Trump warned that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran did not reach a deal with the United States by a deadline he had imposed. Later that month, Trump explicitly ruled out using a nuclear weapon against Iran, saying the U.S. did not need one and that nuclear weapons should not be used by anybody.
Questions about the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons against Iran also surfaced in June, when Fox News reported, citing a White House official, that the Trump administration had not taken any options “off the table” as it considered possible military action against Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear facility.
The report came after The Guardian reported that Trump was not considering using a tactical nuclear weapon against the site. The Pentagon declined to comment to Newsweek at the time.
Trump has also drawn attention for his broader comments on nuclear weapons. Last year, he appeared to suggest that the U.S. could resume nuclear weapons testing for the first time in more than three decades, saying he had instructed the Pentagon to begin testing on an “equal basis” with Russia and China.
The United States has not detonated a nuclear weapon since 1992, and Trump offered few details about what type of testing he intended. He later said he wanted to see “denuclearization” and “de-escalation.”
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Edward T. Cummins.
