By Isabella Torregiani
2:37pm PDT, Jun 16, 2025
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President Donald Trump is pushing back against criticism from Tucker Carlson, who accused him of abandoning his "America First" principles by supporting Israel's campaign against Iran.The former Fox News host condemned Israel's strike on Iran, calling the United States "complicit in the act of war."
Keep reading for Trump's response to the claims…
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On June 13, Tucker Carlson called out President Donald Trump for what he described as complicity in Israel's bombing of Iran.Carlson wrote on X that "politicians purporting to be 'America First' can't now credibly turn around and say they had nothing to do with it."
"While the American military may not have physically perpetrated the assault, years of funding and sending weapons to Israel, which Donald Trump just bragged about on Truth Social, undeniably place the U.S. at the center of last night's events," he wrote following the strikes.
Carlson went on to allege that Washington knew the attacks were coming and "aided Israel in carrying them out."
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President Donald Trump refuted Tucker Carlson's critiques, saying that no one can tell him what it means to be "America First.""Well, considering that I'm the one that developed 'America First,' and considering that the term wasn't used until I came along, I think I'm the one that decides that," Trump told The Atlantic on Saturday, June 14.
"For those people who say they want peace — you can't have peace if Iran has a nuclear weapon. So for all of those wonderful people who don't want to do anything about Iran having a nuclear weapon — that's not peace," he added.
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President Donald Trump's administration initially distanced themselves from Israel's threats towards Iran.Prior to the strikes, Trump told reporters that he didn't "want them going in" because he felt an attack would "blow" the United States' nuclear talks with Iran.
At the time, the United States and Iran were in discussions to address Iran's development of nuclear weapons and work toward ending the country's enrichment program.
However, following the strikes, both countries canceled a scheduled meeting that was supposed to take place on Sunday, June 15.
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Since Israel's attack on Iran, President Donald Trump has denied any U.S. involvement."The U.S. had nothing to do with the attack on Iran tonight," Trump wrote on Truth Social on June 14.
"If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before. However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!" he wrote.