Ted Cruz slams Tucker Carlson for World War II comments

Sen. Ted Cruz publicly criticized Tucker Carlson after a clip from the latter's podcast circulated in which Carlson questioned whether Britain "benefited" from its role in World War II. Cruz posted on X that the United Kingdom and the United States are better off for having won the war and said the world would have been much worse had the Nazis prevailed.

The contested segment aired during Carlson’s interview with former U.K. conservative lawmaker Jacob Rees‑Mogg and included a question from Carlson about whether Britain truly "won" given postwar changes such as the end of the British Empire and the loss of colonies. In the same episode Carlson suggested Britain had not necessarily prospered from the war and referenced demographic and cultural shifts in contemporary Britain.

Carlson’s recent programming has drawn scrutiny from within the Republican Party after he hosted guests who promoted Holocaust revisionism and white nationalist views. The episode referenced in Cruz’s comments included podcaster Darryl Cooper making inflammatory remarks about Nazi Germany’s extermination of Jewish people, and Carlson previously hosted Nick Fuentes, who has denied the Holocaust and made antisemitic statements.

Cruz had previously condemned Carlson for interviewing Fuentes, calling silence in the face of such views cowardly and complicit, remarks he made at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Summit. The ongoing disputes reflect broader debate among conservatives about Carlson’s influence and the boundaries of acceptable commentary within the party.