During Tucker Carlson’s disturbingly dishonest, ultra-combative interview with U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee, Carlson replayed his biggest tropes: America’s “toxic relationship with Israel.” Israeli leaders were in league with Jeffrey Epstein and had visited Epstein Island. (After Huckabee suggested a defamation lawsuit, Carlson immediately backtracked and uploaded an apology video.) Israel was “purging Christians from the Holy Land,” with those dastardly Jews scheming “to keep Americans from noticing.” (No apology for that one.)
And Carlson, of course, included his standard Qatari bootlicking, culminating with this fascinating exchange:
Huckabee: Tucker, Christianity is growing in Israel.
Carlson: Okay, but —
Huckabee: There is a big lie that goes out there —
[crosstalk]
Huckabee: No, let me finish this: I keep hearing Christians are really not treated well in Israel. That’s simply… that’s a lie.
[crosstalk]
Huckabee: There were 34,000 Christians in Israel in 1948. There are 184,000 Christians today.
Carlson: And by Israel, what are you counting?
Huckabee: The land.
Carlson: Are you counting Israel proper? Are you counting the West Bank and Gaza? I mean, when you say Israel, those numbers apply to what land mass?
Huckabee: It would be in Israel proper.
Carlson: Okay.
Huckabee: There are 184,000. Now, I’ll tell you where Christians are not doing very well: They’re not doing very well in Muslim-controlled countries. There’s almost no Christians in Qatar, for example, except those who live in the Christian ghetto, who are the service workers.
Carlson: I’m sorry, I don’t want to argue with you, but there are many more Christians in Qatar than there are in Israel.
After more back-and-forth bickering:
Carlson: There are about twice as many Christians [in Qatar as in Israel]
Huckabee: They live in an enclave. They are not native Qataris.
Carlson: Okay, we’re mixing so many categories. I’m just saying, I get things wrong all the time. You’ve just gotten something wrong and I think it’s important to acknowledge it: There are many more Christians in Qatar than Israel. Fact.
Huckabee: How many?
Carlson: Now you got me, I don’t know, I can [look at] my phone, but I was just there and there were many more — look, whatever.
Here’s the video:
I looked this up because Tucker's wording felt slimy. Turns out it was.
— Colin Wright (@SwipeWright) February 21, 2026
With a smarmy smile, Tucker says, "There are many more Christians in Qatar than there are in Israel." This is seemingly meant to imply that Qatar must not be treating Christians too poorly, given how many… pic.twitter.com/ZDA4kz8piT
It’s a fascinating exchange because it deconstructs how modern-day antisemites propagandize their message: They manipulate words and statistics to create false impressions.
Today, there are over 180,000 Israeli citizens who are Christians. In 1950, there were 36,000; in 1980, there were 89,900; in 2010, there were 153,400.
And according to opinion polls, 84% of Israel’s Christians say they’re satisfied with Israeli life. Presumably, that’s why the Christian population has grown fivefold!
Meanwhile, there are virtually NO Christian citizens of Qatar. No Jews, Hindus, atheists, or Buddhists are citizens either.
From the U.S. State Department:
The U.S. government estimates the total [Qatari] population at 2.5 million (midyear 2022). Citizens make up approximately 11 percent of the population, while noncitizens account for approximately 89 percent. Most citizens are Sunni Muslims, and almost all others are Shia Muslims.
[…]
The constitution declares Islam to be the state religion and states sharia shall be “a main source” of legislation. According to the constitution, the Emir must be Muslim. The constitution provides for hereditary rule by men in the Emir’s branch of the Al Thani family. The Emir exercises full executive power. [emphasis added]
Qatar only has 380,000 citizens. About 90% of its residents are foreign nationals who serve as cheap labor. And these aren’t cushy white-collar jobs; it’s mostly physical, backbreaking work — which is why only 24.7% of Qatar’s residents are women, the smallest percentage anywhere in the world.
Regarding the identity of Qatar’s Christians, as ACN International pointed out:
…Christians living in Qatar make up 13.1% of the Qatari population. Most of them are migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or the Philippines. [emphasis added]
They don’t vote. Human rights abuses are rampant.
Many live as slaves.
From Business and Human Rights Centre:
[Qatar’s foreign workers] are controlled by an abusive sponsorship system (according to the "kafala," the guarantee system practiced in many Arab countries), which gives employers almost complete control over workers. Despite publicized initiatives to improve their situation, workers still struggle to change jobs – even if employers have stopped paying them...Not only that, but when a worker leaves his workplace without employer permission, it is considered an "escape" that is considered a crime under the country's law.
So consider: Israel has 184,000 Christian citizens with full voting rights, plus 371 churches. You can hear the church bells ringing every Sunday.
Whereas Qatar has a grand total of about six churches within a fenced compound. No other churches are allowed anywhere in the country. There are no crosses or crucifixes near the buildings; the church bells are silent.
As the New York Times explained:
To have an official presence in Qatar, non-Muslim religious groups must register with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Only eight Christian faiths have been approved.
The country has no approved Hindu shrines or Buddhist temples, no Jewish synagogues.
For the location of one of Qatar’s churches:
It was built away from the city center, amid the vast stretches of open lots and cramped migrant neighborhoods with grim names like the Industrial Area. The buildings are unadorned, as if in disguise. There are no crucifixes or other Christian symbols visible on the outside. The tower on the Catholic church tapers to the sky, but there is no cross at its apex.
That was part of the agreement. Symbols visible to the general public, even in advertising, are not allowed.
Israel is the only country in the Middle East that grants Christians total religious freedom. It’s long been the only growing Christian community in the entire Middle East. Furthermore, Israel’s 184,000 Christian citizens enjoy full voting rights. They worship freely and openly. They’re among the best-educated in the land.
But because Qatar’s petro-rich Muslim citizens own hundreds of thousands of Christian slaves, Tucker Carlson implies that Qatar must therefore be more pro-Christian!
Garsh! Using Carlson’s logic, if Qatar’s Muslims DOUBLED their ownership of Christian slaves, life for Qatari Christians would be TWICE as good! Apparently, the more Christian slaves, the better!
(And since there were more Jews in Germany in 1943 than in Vermont or Utah, clearly, Nazi Germany must’ve been “better” for the Jews, too.)
Carlson’s argument was preposterous and misleading — but that’s how propaganda works. Its purpose, after all, isn’t accuracy.
It’s persuasion.
And now, to attack Israel and serve his Qatari masters, Carlson has become an apologist for the Muslim ownership of Christian slaves.
Question: Since Carlson is a Christian who bought a house in Qatar, does that make him a house slave? (Hey, I’m “Just asking questions,” too.)
Too bad Carlson doesn’t love Qatar’s Christians more than he hates Jews. Because, unlike the Christians in Israel, the Christians in Qatar are defenseless. Legally, politically, socially, and systemically, they’re being killed by the thousands.
More than 6,500 migrant workers died in the ten-year run-up to the Qatari World Cup.
(Had they died in Israel, Carlson would’ve been first in line to call it “genocide.”)
It’s tragic. Those Qatari Christians desperately needed someone brave enough to stand up for them — someone with the courage and cojones to speak truth to power — someone who truly loved their neighbor as much as himself. But alas, that’s not Tucker Carlson’s game. It’s not why he’s paid the big bucks.
He’s the Joseph Goebbels for the Qatari Emir and the Muslim world.
I hope the 30 pieces of silver were worth it.
One Last Thing: 2026 is a critical year for America First: It began with Mayor Mamdani declaring war on “rugged individualism” and will reach a crescendo with the midterm elections. Nothing less than the fate of the America First movement teeters in the balance.
Never before have the political battlelines been so clearly defined. Win or lose, 2026 will transform our country.
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