Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson is claiming that evangelist Franklin Graham accused him of being an antisemite. In a statement to ChurchLeaders, Graham denied that he did.
In a recent interview with Piers Morgan, Carlson said that President Donald Trump informed him that Graham sent the president a letter accusing Carlson of antisemitism.
Franklin Graham is the son of famed evangelist Billy Graham and the president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and of Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian humanitarian organization.
Carlson was an anchor for Fox News for more than a decade before being fired in 2023. Since his departure from cable news, Carlson has launched a podcast and has expressed some views that have made waves among traditional political conservatives. These include his criticism of Christian Zionism and his criticism of unilateral support for the actions of the Israeli government.
In his conversation with Piers Morgan, Carlson clarified earlier comments about Christian Zionism, saying, “I don’t hate Christian Zionists. I’m deeply frustrated with some evangelical leaders who are not preaching Christianity, but some weird, sick, culty version of it that puts [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Jesus.”
“That’s not Christianity. It’s totally wrong,” Tucker added. “And some of them are quite ruthless.”
As an example, Carlson said, “I’ve learned personally, Franklin Graham, for example. I went in to see Trump, and Trump says, ‘I just got a letter from Franklin Graham calling you an antisemite.’ Franklin Graham? An antisemite? Really?”
Carlson went on to claim that Trump showed him the letter and that Graham went as far as to advise Trump “never to talk to” Carlson again. Carlson said that immediately after leaving his meeting with Trump, he attempted to call Graham but that Graham would not take his call.
“Why would you call me an antisemite?” Carlson asked of Graham. “And why didn’t you call me first? If you think I’m an antisemite, wouldn’t you want to persuade me not to be? Because that’s a pretty ugly thing to be.”
