Tucker Carlson’s sit-down with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee is triggering a new political storm after Carlson was accused of flirting with “bloodline” politics by floating the idea of genetic testing to “prove” who qualifies as Abraham’s descendants.
Carlson traveled to Israel for the interview, which was filmed at Ben Gurion Airport after a public back-and-forth between the two men. The trip also drew attention after Carlson claimed he faced unusual treatment at the airport—an allegation disputed by Israeli officials and Huckabee, who said the checks were routine.
The DNA-testing flare-up spread rapidly online via clips and posts summarizing Carlson as calling for genetic testing of “everybody” in Israel to establish ancestry. Critics said the framing echoes a familiar antisemitic trope: questioning whether Ashkenazi Jews are “real” Jews and treating Jewish identity as something that can be validated by a state-mandated biological test.
The interview also featured sharp exchanges on Gaza and Iran. Huckabee forcefully disputed Carlson’s accusations about Israel and pushed back on claims about American wars being fought “for Israel,” while separately highlighting what he said was an example of viral misinformation: the widely shared allegation from former Gaza Humanitarian Foundation contractor Anthony Aguilar that the IDF killed a young boy—an account later undermined by evidence that the child was found alive.
