Fact Check: Did the Trump admin put Tucker Carlson on security watchlist?
WASHINGTON, DC: Online claims are circulating alleging that the administration of Donald Trump has placed conservative media figure Tucker Carlson on a government security watchlist or flagged him as a potential security risk.
The speculation has intensified as Carlson, once a strong Trump supporter, has increasingly distanced himself from the president during Trump’s second term, apologizing on his podcast for his earlier backing and sharply criticizing US policy on Iran and other issues.
Claim: Trump administration placed Tucker Carlson on security risk watchlist
An X post claimed, "NEW: The Trump administration has placed Tucker Carlson, a recent critic of Trump, on a te****ist watch list."
Similar posts alleged that Trump’s counterte****ism adviser Sebastian Gorka labeled Carlson a “possible” or “potential” domestic security threat.
One widely shared post further claimed Gorka also referenced Carlson and media personality Nick Fuentes in the context of criticism over US involvement in the Iran conflict, stating he “pointed directly at both” when discussing right-wing extremism.
It added that Carlson was reportedly criticized for remarks about Saudi Arabia being misinterpreted as support for Sharia law, while Fuentes was quoted as saying, “Israel is dragging us into war. America First.”
The post also cited Carlson’s criticism of the Iran war as “the single biggest mistake” of his lifetime, and argued that the discussion around both figures was tied to their questioning of US foreign policy decisions, particularly regarding Israel and Iran.
Fact Check: False, no evidence to support Tucker Carlson is on a security watchlist
The claim that the Trump administration placed conservative commentator Tucker Carlson on a security watchlist or identified him as a potential threat is unfounded. The rumor originated from comments made by US President Donald Trump’s counter-extremism adviser Sebastian Gorka during a May 8 interview with Breitbart News editor-in-chief Alex Marlow.
In that interview, Gorka did not state that the administration had placed Carlson on any watchlist or that he was under investigation. Instead, when discussing extremism, he questioned whether Carlson could still be considered a conservative in light of his criticism of the administration’s handling of the Iran conflict and his remarks about Sharia law.
The FBI does not confirm individual placements on its Threat Screening Center watchlist, making it impossible to independently verify such claims.
During the same interview, Gorka compared “right-wing violence” and “left-wing violence” while responding to questions about extremism, including a reference to recent Justice Department actions involving the Southern Poverty Law Center.
