Ben Shapiro slams Tucker Carlson over Trump remarks, says he's having 'some sort of mental break’

Ben Shapiro accused Tucker Carlson of hypocrisy, highlighting past instances where Carlson himself made controversial remarks about religious groups
PUBLISHED APR 8, 2026
Ben Shapiro launched a sharp attack on Tucker Carlson after Carlson criticized President Donald Trump for allegedly mocking Muslims (Getty Images)
Ben Shapiro launched a sharp attack on Tucker Carlson after Carlson criticized President Donald Trump for allegedly mocking Muslims (Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC: Ben Shapiro tore into Tucker Carlson on Tuesday, April 7, blasting the former Fox News host for going after President Donald Trump and suggesting he may have gone off the rails entirely.

On his latest podcast episode, Shapiro accused Carlson of spiraling after the pundit lashed out at Trump for allegedly “mocking” Muslims.

“Tucker Carlson released what can only be described as an episode in which he appears to be suffering from some sort of mental break,” Shapiro said. “It’s very hard to explain otherwise.”

The jab came a day after Carlson erupted over Trump’s Easter morning message that included the phrase “Praise be to Allah,” which Carlson thought was offensive and provocative amid tensions with Iran.

President Donald Trump pretends to aim a sniper gun while speaking with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Monday, April 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump pretends to aim a sniper gun while speaking with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Monday, April 6, 2026, in Washington (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Tucker Carlson’s broadside against Donald Trump

Carlson took a moral stand, arguing Trump had crossed a line.

“No decent person mocks other people’s religions,” Carlson said, warning that such rhetoric only makes sense if you “seek a religious war.”

“Who do you think you are? You’re tweeting out the f-word on Easter morning,” Carlson asked Trump. “So, obviously, you’re mocking the religion of Iran. OK. If you seek a religious war, that’s a good idea. But by the way, no decent person mocks other people’s religions. You may have a problem with the theology. Presumably, you do if it’s not your religion, and you can explain what that is. But to mock other people’s faith is to mock the idea of faith itself.”



“The message of all faith at the biggest picture level is the message in our Bible, which is you are not God. And only if you think you are, do you talk this way,” the pundit continued. “But it’s not just mockery of Islam. And no president should mock Islam. That’s not your job. This is not a theocracy. We don’t go to war with other theocracies to find out which theocracy is more effective. We are not a theocracy. And God willing, we never will be because theocracies corrupt the religion.”

Ben Shapiro fires back

Shapiro wasn’t buying any of it and accused Carlson of selective outrage and outright hypocrisy.

“The hypocrisy might cause an aneurysm here. This is the same person who was mocking quote unquote ‘hummus eaters’ not all that long ago,” Shapiro said. “This is the same person who has said that Christian Zionists are the people he hates most on planet Earth, who spent pretty much every episode of his show attacking, quote unquote, ‘dispensationalists and mainline evangelical Protestants.’”

He continued, “Don’t mock religion, as long as that religion is Islam, says Tucker Carlson.” 

Ben Shapiro walks the red carpet at the Turning Point USA Inaugural-Eve Ball at the Salamander Hotel on January 19, 2025, in Washington, DC (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Ben Shapiro walks the red carpet at the Turning Point USA Inaugural-Eve Ball at the Salamander Hotel on January 19, 2025, in Washington, DC (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Shapiro went further, accusing Carlson of pushing an agenda that undermines both Trump and America’s global standing.

He said Carlson is leading a “demoralization effort” against Trump and “wishes for America to minimize its presence on planet Earth.”

A feud that won’t quit

The two have been trading barbs for a while now.

Carlson previously claimed Shapiro doesn’t “care about the country at all” and accused him of “shilling” for Israel. In a YouTube video titled “Ben Shapiro Doesn’t Care About Americans, And He Just Proved It,” Carlson said Shapiro “does not want to have” a conversation about how debt is stopping Americans from getting married and starting families.

Shapiro fired back months later during a speech, branding Carlson a “coward” and an “anti-American” fake conservative, adding that Carlson was “destroying” the conservative movement by routinely lying to his audience.

HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 17: Tucker Carlson speaks during 2022 FOX Nation Patriot Awards at Har
Tucker Carlson speaks during 2022 FOX Nation Patriot Awards at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood on November 17, 2022 in Hollywood, Florida (Getty Images)

The divide has only deepened over Iran.

Carlson called the strikes that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei “absolutely disgusting and evil,” while Shapiro has applauded the US for pummeling Iran.

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