Tucker Carlson is now facing sharp criticism from fellow conservatives after suggesting that “radical Islam” is not a serious threat to the United States and arguing that cultural forces like pornography and platforms such as OnlyFans pose far greater danger to Americans.
In a Friday interview with The American Conservative, Carlson was asked about a poll conducted at Turning Point USA’s recent AmericaFest, an event where Carlson himself spoke. The poll found that respondents viewed radical Islam as the single greatest threat to the country.
Carlson rejected that conclusion outright, saying he feels “sorry” for people who believe radical Islam outweighs other social problems. He claimed he does not personally know “anyone in the United States in the last 24 years who’s been killed by radical Islam,” and argued that critics should look instead at what he described as everyday destruction affecting American families and communities.
Carlson said he prefers to measure reality empirically, pointing to suicides, drug overdoses, unemployment, and cultural decay as far more immediate threats. He cited young people struggling to find work and claimed that boys in his daughter’s class cannot get jobs. He also blamed prescription drugs, video games, and pornography for harming young men, framing those issues as far more visible and damaging than foreign extremism.
Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) tells @amconmag that "hate the Muslims," is just another classic Israeli government psyop meant to propagandize Americans to believe that Israel's enemies are their own.
"I don't know anyone in the United States in the last 24 years who’s been… pic.twitter.com/XJ0g8MmegW
— Harrison Berger (@BergerPosts) December 26, 2025
His comments quickly sparked backlash, with critics noting that there have been multiple politically motivated acts of violence tied to radical Islamist ideology in the United States since September 11, 2001. Those critics pushed back on Carlson’s claim that such threats are effectively nonexistent.
Carlson went further by arguing that platforms like OnlyFans represent a far greater menace. He said he sees millions of Americans being harmed in ways unrelated to radical Islam and claimed that OnlyFans is “not even close” in comparison when it comes to danger. Carlson argued that the platform has turned a significant portion of American women into sex workers, insisting that this cultural shift is not driven by radical Islam but by forces within the United States itself.
“So anyone who believes that lie, I feel sorry for,” Carlson said, referring to the idea that radical Islam is the top threat. He stressed that his view is based on what he described as lived reality, adding that while he may not always be right, he is not a casual observer and believes the narrative pushed by others is disconnected from everyday American life.
The remarks drew swift condemnation from prominent conservatives. Carlson has already been criticized by figures such as Ben Shapiro, who has accused him of indulging conspiracy theories. His latest comments intensified that criticism. Meghan McCain mocked Carlson on X, writing that the country appears to be “three months away” from him accusing anyone who disagrees of being a warmonger neocon.
Carlson has also recently disclosed that he is buying a home in Qatar, a revelation that has fueled further skepticism among his critics on the right. He suggested that the threat of radical Islam is exaggerated in order to more closely align the interests of the United States with Israel.
He argued that convincing struggling young Americans that radical Islam is their top problem amounts to propaganda. Carlson said that if people who cannot find jobs, buy homes, or form stable families are persuaded that foreign extremism is their primary enemy, then whoever spread that message would be “the most effective propagandist in history.”
The controversy underscores deep divisions on the right over national security, culture, and what truly threatens the future of the country.
