Fact Check: Did Trump tell Tucker Carlson 'we all die anyway' to dismiss Iran war concerns?
WASHINGTON, DC: A claim about a private conversation between President Donald Trump and political commentator Tucker Carlson has sparked discussion online. The alleged exchange reportedly focused on concerns about the Iran war and its potential consequences. Let's fact-check the claim.
Claim: Trump told Tucker Carlson, 'We all die anyway,' over concerns about the Iran war
Tucker Carlson recounts a private meeting where Donald Trump dismissed serious concerns over a potential war with Iran by casually telling him, "In the end, we're all dead anyway."
— John Loftus (@JohnCFLoftus1) September 24, 2026
"I said to him, shocked, 'But what about our kids, our grandkids, our country?' pic.twitter.com/Hlum4a5UOk
In September 2026, a claim spread online that Trump dismissed conservative commentator Tucker Carlson’s concerns about the Iran war by saying, “We all die anyway.”
Carlson made the claim in an NPR interview released on September 24, 2026, while describing a conversation he said he had with Trump days before the war began.
Carlson said he warned Trump that starting the war could harm the United States, his political legacy, and the Republican Party, while causing many deaths. He also told Trump that he believed Israel was pushing the war for reasons beyond Iran’s nuclear program.
According to Carlson, he made these comments to Trump in the Oval Office before the war began. Carlson said Trump agreed with some of his concerns but responded, “Yes, you’re right. But in the end, we all die anyway. So it doesn’t matter.” Carlson repeated that he believed these were Trump’s exact words.
Carlson also said he asked Trump about the impact of the war on Americans’ children, grandchildren, and the country. He recalled that Trump did not give a substantive response. Carlson described the exchange as a verbatim account of their private conversation.
Fact Check: The claim is unverified
The claim is unverified. Carlson said he had this conversation with Trump days before the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, 2026, which killed Iran’s Supreme Leader. However, Trump has not confirmed or denied that the conversation took place.
The White House also did not directly confirm or deny Carlson’s account. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Snopes by email, “President Trump is committed to ensuring that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. Meanwhile, Tucker Carlson is a whiny turncoat who dramatically overestimates his influence and relevance.”
During the same NPR interview, Carlson said Trump “should have been removed from office for threatening first-use nuclear strike.” He also claimed that Israel “caused” Trump to launch the war against Iran. Carlson made the first part of the statement at the 19:52 mark of the interview and discussed the exchange again at 27:10 in the video published on NPR’s website.
Carlson was correct that Trump had previously said the US had eliminated Iran’s nuclear program. However, neither Trump nor the White House has confirmed that Trump made the “we all die anyway” remark.
Carlson was once a prominent Trump ally, but he has since publicly disagreed with Trump over the war in Iran and said he deeply regrets his past support for the president. Without independent confirmation of Carlson’s account, the alleged exchange cannot be definitively verified.
