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Ted Cruz Slams Tucker Carlson for Comments on Osama bid Laden, World War II
US Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaking at a press conference about the United States restricting weapons for Israel, at the US Capitol, Washington, DC. Photo: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
US Republican Sen. Ted Cruz (TX) has repudiated popular right-wing podcaster Tucker Carlson for claiming he would like to share “condolences” with the family of Osama bin Laden, the late al Qaeda leader who organized the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.
“Something is wrong with Tucker Carlson,” Cruz said during an episode of his podcast “Verdict with Ted Cruz” that was released on Monday.
Cruz was responding to Carlson, a controversial commentator and online provocateur, who said in a recent episode of his own podcast that he would have no problem expressing sympathy to bin Laden’s family of bin Laden following the arch-terrorist’s death.
Carlson was interviewing Shahed Ghoreishi, a former US State Department official who upset his superiors by offering condolences to the families of supposed journalists killed in Gaza, including the family of Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif. Mounting evidence has revealed that al-Sharif may have operated as a political operative for Hamas prior to and during the Palestinian terrorist group’s ongoing war with Israel.
“Let me just say: I would be totally comfortable sharing condolences with Osama bin Laden’s family,” Carlson said in response. “I hate Osama bin Laden. On the other hand, if somebody dies, it’s OK to say, ‘I’m sorry’ to his family.
He then added, “I would say that to the family of an executed murderer in a prison. It doesn’t mean I support the murderer, but this is family. That’s OK. It’s called human decency.”
Cruz lamented Carlson’s career trajectory, claiming that he was “destination TV” during his stint on Fox News. The senator remarked that during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns, Carlson’s show on Fox was “the single best thing on television.”
“I look at the Tucker today, he is unrecognizable,” Cruz then added.
Cruz then discussed his appearance on Carlson’s podcast in June, claiming that he knew that he would face a tough interview. At the time, Carlson clashed with Cruz over the latter’s support for Israel and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a lobbying group that promotes bipartisan support for a strong US-Israel relationship. During the tense interview, Cruz called out Carlson over his “obsession” with the world’s lone Jewish state.
“You’re asking, ‘Why are the Jews controlling our foreign policy?’” Cruz stated. “If you’re not an antisemite, give me another reason why the obsession is Israel.”
Though Cruz was not surprised at the combative nature of the discussion, he expressed surprise that the podcaster would engage in “bizarre counterfactual assertions.”
“He said, for example, Iran’s not trying to kill the president,” Cruz said, referring to claims by Israeli officials, backed by US federal prosecutors, that the Iranian regime has tried to assassinate US President Donald Trump.
“That is, of course, absurd. Multiple people have been indicted for being Iranian agents trying to kill the president, trying to kill former US senior officials. But Tucker bizarrely said, you know, if Iran was trying to kill the president, well, then we should nuke them, which was a really bizarre proposition,” Cruz added.
US prosecutors have unveiled multiple plots tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including an alleged plan to assassinate Trump and other US officials.
Carlson recently came under fire for interviewing Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian but not pushing back against his claims or challenging the leader on Iran’s nuclear program or human rights record.
Cruz also slammed Carlson for inviting a “loon professor” on his show to argue that the US should have sided with the Nazis over the allies in World War II.
“No, there is not a good argument that America should have supported the Nazis. The Nazis were evil, period. The end. I got to say, any commentator, if you’re sitting around thinking, ‘You know what I need to do? I need to go out and embrace Adolf Hitler.’ Defend Hitler. Just pause right there. Think about what you’re doing,” Cruz said.
In a recent episode of “The Tucker Carlson Show,” Cornell University organic chemistry professor Dave Collum stated, “I think the story we got about World War II is all wrong.”
“I think that’s right,’ Carlson agreed.
“One could make the argument we should’ve sided with Hitler and fought [then-Soviet leader Josef] Stalin,” Collum said, claiming that if the United States aligned with the Nazis, “maybe there wouldn’t have been a Holocaust.”
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.