Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) appeared to side with Tucker Carlson in the intra-MAGA conflict over the United States’ support of Israel’s war with Iran, labeling members of his own party “war pimps” while saying he doesn’t want to “see American boys and girls going to a faraway land.”
During a Wednesday morning appearance on CNN, the far-right congressman was asked to weigh in on the recent clash between Carlson and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), which featured the former Fox News star chastising the senator for not knowing basic facts about Iran while pushing for regime change and direct American action.
“You’re a senator who’s calling for the overthrow of the government, and you don’t know anything about the country!” Carlson shouted at Cruz at one point in the interview.
“There is a bit of a divide in your own party on this,” CNN anchor John Berman said while airing a clip of the Carlson-Cruz exchange. “It seems like you‘re saying you don‘t want U.S. military involvement here. You’re agreeing on that. And we saw in this new video, Tucker Carlson – who is someone who in the past has been very supportive of the president – had an interview with Sen. Ted Cruz from Texas.”
After playing footage from the heated discussion, Berman wondered where Burchett came down on this while noting that Carlson has called some Republicans and conservative media figures “warmongers” while urging President Donald Trump not to militarily attack Iran.
“Yeah, well, I call them war pimps,” Burchett flatly responded before taking aim at Cruz and Sen, Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who has been pushing Trump to go “all in” on Iran while saying it’s “time to close the chapter” on Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
“You know, Lindsey Graham‘s a friend of mine. Ted Cruz is a friend of mine,” he continued. “Look, I got a daughter who just turned 18 last week on the same day as the president did… and I don‘t want to see her go to war.”
Noting that his parents fought in World War II, which he said was for a “just cause,” Burchett then argued that he doesn’t want to “see American boys and girls going to a faraway land that many of us can‘t even find on a map.”
Insisting that “the Israelis can handle this thing,” the Tennessee lawmaker reiterated that he didn’t want the United States to further entangle itself in the escalating conflict.
“We do not need a three-front war in our lifetime,” he added. “I just don‘t think that that‘s the route to go. There‘ll be room for debate. But I think we ought to let the president do his negotiating skills. That‘s what I elected him to do.”
Elsewhere in the CNN interview, Burchett also seemed to disagree with Graham and other Republicans who claim that American involvement is necessary because Iran’s nuclear capabilities pose a direct threat to the United States.
“They can‘t get past Greece with their missiles. I think if they had, they would have already launched them. That‘s pretty evident in their last missile strike,” he stated. “Again, I think we need to take a deep breath and slow down this thing and let the Israelis do their thing. And that‘s ultimately what‘s going to bring them to the negotiating table.”
With the president weighing whether to join Israel’s war against Iran, which has included him urging the residents of Tehran to immediately evacuate while demanding “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER,” Carlson has led a growing right-wing insurgency that threatens to splinter the MAGA coalition.
Carlson, who has warned Trump for months about bombing Iran as other right-wing pundits egged the president on, accused the president of being “complicit” after Israel preemptively struck Iran. Arguing that a war could “end Trump’s presidency” and the “American empire,” Carlson has also taken aim at his old haunting grounds, calling his former Fox News colleagues “warmongers” while claiming the network is “turning up the propaganda hose to full blast” to justify a regime-changing war with Iran.
With Carlson attracting other prominent MAGA isolationists such as Steve Bannon and Marjorie Taylor Greene to his side, Trump finally decided to return fire at his longtime ally and informal adviser. “Somebody please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that, “IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,” Trump blasted on Truth Social on Monday night.
The president even took to mocking Carlson, who was fired from Fox News in 2023, for no longer having a primetime cable news show – revealing once again just how much weight the media-obsessed Trump places on television.
“I don’t know what Tucker Carlson is saying,” Trump seethed at this week’s G7. “Let him go get a television network and say it so that people listen.”
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