Speaking in a recent interview with The American Conservative, Carlson flatly declared that radical Islam has not killed a single American in nearly a quarter century. Tucker Carlson did not hedge his words. He did not qualify them. The statement was sweeping, absolute, and demonstrably false. Yet Carlson delivered it as a settled fact, while directing blame toward Israel and dismissing concerns about jihadist violence as manufactured propaganda.
After making that assertion, Carlson went further. He accused the Israeli government of fomenting fear of Islamic terrorism in the United States and described Israel as a burden rather than an ally. The remarks drew immediate backlash, not because they were controversial, but because they rewrote history, denying facts and erasing the dead.
Carlson’s denial came during a 26-minute interview with Harrison Berger. Asked about concerns over radical Islam in America, Carlson replied without hesitation: “It comes from the Israeli government and its many defenders and informal employees in the United States, of course.” He added that claims about jihadist violence do not reflect reality, saying, “I believe in measuring reality a little more empirically.”
Carlson then made his central claim. “I don’t know anyone in the United States in the last 24 years who’s been killed by radical Islam,” he said. He immediately contrasted that with other causes of death, adding, “I know a lot of people who have killed themselves. I know people who’ve died of drug ODs, more than a few.”
The record contradicts him.
In November 2009, Islamist terrorist Nidal Hasan murdered 13 people at Fort Hood. In December 2015, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik murdered 14 people in San Bernardino after pledging allegiance to ISIS. In June 2016, Omar Mateen murdered 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, explicitly declaring loyalty to ISIS during the attack. In October 2017, Sayfullo Saipov killed eight people in New York City in an ISIS-inspired truck attack.
Carlson’s claim also collides with his own professional past. In 2014, ISIS terrorists beheaded American journalist Steven Sotloff in Syria. Sotloff was a contributor to The Daily Caller, the outlet Carlson co-founded. That murder occurred well within Carlson’s 24-year window.
The dead include American service members. During the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, ISIS-K carried out a suicide bombing at Abbey Gate outside Kabul airport. Thirteen U.S. service members were killed. Their deaths were broadcast live across the world. Carlson did not acknowledge them.
Despite this, Carlson insisted that radical Islam poses little danger. “I see millions of Americans being destroyed,” he said, “and none of it is at the hands of radical Islam.” He then posed a comparison he would later repeat. “Is radical Islam more dangerous than OnlyFans? It’s not even close.”
Carlson elaborated. “Turning some huge percentage of American women into prostitutes? That’s not radical Islam doing that, actually.” He dismissed those who disagreed, saying, “Anyone who believes that lie, I feel sorry for.” He concluded, “It doesn’t reflect the lived reality of anyone I’ve ever met in the United States.”
The comparison is striking not only for its cynicism, but for its emptiness. There are no statistics showing that Americans have been killed by OnlyFans models. There are names, dates, and graves for those murdered by jihadist terrorists.
Carlson’s remarks on Islam were inseparable from his attacks on Israel. “There is no sense in which Israel is an important ally,” he said. “It’s not even an ally. It’s a liability.” He went on to accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “mass murder” in Gaza and asked, “Why are we responsible for Bibi’s mass murder?”
These statements align closely with narratives promoted by Qatar, a state sponsor of terrorism that has provided sanctuary and funding to Hamas, a terrorist organization responsible for the murder of Americans and Israelis. Carlson has maintained unusually warm relations with Qatari officials and has repeatedly portrayed the regime in a favorable light, while dismissing its role in financing jihadist groups.
The Sages teach that denying the reality of bloodshed is itself a moral crime. Falsehood does not merely obscure facts; it erases victims and absolves perpetrators. Carlson’s words did exactly that. By declaring that no Americans have been killed by radical Islam, he did not challenge policy. He denied history.
