Tucker Carlson speaks on July 18, 2024, during the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo: Jasper Colt-USA TODAY via Reuters Connect

At the memorial for conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Sunday, Tucker Carlson — the former Fox News host-turned-far-right conspiracy theorist podcaster — appeared to advance two antisemitic ideas at once, both blaming the Jewish people for the crucifixion of Jesus and further amplifying his previous suggestions alleging Israeli involvement in the slaying of one of the world’s leading Christian Zionist voices.

In the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, Carlson said during his speech that Kirk’s murder “actually reminds me of my favorite story ever,” before proceeding to offer his own spin on a medieval passion play.

“So, it’s about 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem, and Jesus shows up and he starts talking about the people in power. And he starts doing the worst thing that you can do, which is telling the truth about people. And they hate it, and they just go bonkers,” Carlson said. “They hate it, and they become obsessed with making him stop. ‘This guy’s got to stop talking. We’ve got to shut this guy up.'”

Carlson continued his story before the crowd of mourners, describing how “I can just sort of picture the scene in a lamplit room with a bunch of guys sitting around and eating hummus, thinking about what do we do about this guy telling the truth about us. ‘We must make him stop talking.’ And there’s always one guy with the bright idea, and I can hear him say, ‘I’ve got an idea: Why don’t we just kill him? That’ll shut him up. That’ll fix the problem.'”

Carlson then burst out laughing before adding, “It doesn’t work that way. It doesn’t work that way. Everything is inverted.”

Tucker Carlson decided to try hint at the Charlie Kirk memorial that Charlie Kirk was killed by “hummus eaters in Jerusalem” – the same people who killed Christ in his words

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— Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼 (@DrewPavlou) September 21, 2025

US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) — who has recently taken up popular leftist talking points falsely accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza — praised the speech, posting on the X social media platform that “Tucker Carlson just gave the best speech that was centered on what being a Christian is. It’s about Jesus and it starts with faith and repentance and it changes us. Which leads us to God. Thank you Tucker.”

The Quds News Network, a Palestinian news agency, also boosted Carlson’s comments, writing, “Tucker Carlson suggests Israeli involvement in Charlie Kirk’s death during TPUSA’s [Turning Point USA’s] memorial for its late founder.”

David Friedman, who served as US ambassador to Israel in President Donald Trump’s first term, called the speech “antisemitic innuendo,” adding that such comments were “never appropriate, but even less so at a memorial service for a great man.” Friedman later wrote that the memorial “was not about him” and that the very debate over Carlson’s remarks underscored how out of place they were.

Ryan Saavedra, a reporter for the Daily Wire, accused Carlson of being unable to “contain his hatred for Jews for even just a few minutes,” noting that the attack on Jewish people was one of the first themes Carlson raised in his tribute.

Other commentators also condemned the insinuations. Matthew Schmitz, editor of the conservative Compact magazine, summarized Carlson’s pattern: “Once again, Tucker Carlson finds a way to insinuate that Charlie Kirk’s murder had something to do with Jews. No matter what happens, someone, somewhere will find a way to blame it on Jews.”

Richard Goldberg, a former Trump administration official and senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), sees danger for the Republican Party should Carlson continue as a dominant thought leader.

“Tucker’s unhealthy obsession with Jews and Israel is a disease that is poisoning the Republican Party,” Goldberg wrote on X. “While I am not surprised by his decision to use Charlie Kirk’s assassination as a platform to spread this disease – indeed, he is a disciplined strategic communicator – I am surprised by how few conservatives have the backbone to stand up and say they will no longer platform him.”

Goldberg said Carlson “has a freedom of speech” but that “we have a freedom of association.” He argued “this is about the future of American conservatives. We cannot make the same mistake many Democrats did with people whispering to each other, ‘Don’t worry, it’s just a small minority, it’ll go away.’ I don’t know what the motivation is – Qatari money, click-bait, personal animosity related to past employment problems, or something else. What I do know is that it’s toxic, it is 180 degrees from President Trump and it needs to be met with a decision by those we call ‘leaders’ to stop platforming him (and those who echo such vile sentiments).”

Arsen Ostrovsky, CEO of the International Legal Forum, went even further, posting on X that “Tucker Carlson is a modern-day Neo-Nazi. What a disgusting and loathsome human being. To use Charlie Kirk’s funeral to launch into an unhinged, antisemitic, conspiracy theory tirade, is an unconscionable defilement of Charlie’s memory and everything he stood for!”

FDD CEO Mark Dubowitz wrote that “Tucker Carlson used the memorial for Charlie Kirk — a passionate friend of Israel & the Jewish people — to spread antisemitic blood libels. I knew his father, Richard Carlson, Vice-Chair at FDD who strongly supported Jews & Israel. I just can’t fathom what happened to Tucker.”

Carlson’s comments come amid an eruption of conspiracy theories following Kirk’s assassination. As The Algemeiner reported last week, Grayzone editor Max Blumenthal, a pro-Iran commentator, alleged that Kirk had been pressured over his pro-Israel views by billionaire investor Bill Ackman and other advocates. Those claims, denied by all involved, were amplified by Carlson, podcaster Candace Owens, who has become a prolific promoter of antisemitic conspiracy theories, and Greene, who cast Kirk as a “Christian martyr” targeted by Jewish influence.

Kirk’s producer, Andrew Kolvet, and Ackman both dismissed the allegations as false, stressing that Kirk maintained cordial relations with pro-Israel figures and that discussions at a recent gathering were wide-ranging and friendly. Prosecutors, meanwhile, have charged 22-year-old Tyler Robinson of Utah with the killing, citing his animosity toward Kirk’s positions on LGBTQ issues as the motive. Law enforcement has not presented any evidence linking Israel or Jewish groups to the crime.

Actress Patricia Heaton, who has emerged as an engaged pro-Israel advocate in recent years, echoed Goldberg’s call for conservatives to cull Carlson from the ranks of the respectable.

“I beg conservatives, especially podcasters, to stop giving Tucker Carlson any exposure,” Heaton wrote on X. “Stop going on his show. There’s something really wrong with him. My Spidey-sense was triggered the first time I ever heard him and his creepy laugh.”

Erika Kirk, Charlie’s widow and the new CEO of his organization Turning Point USA, expressed forgiveness for Robinson during her speech at the memorial.

“That man, that young man … I forgive him,” she said. “I forgive him because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do … The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”