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 the 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 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.”