Tucker Carlson, once one of Donald Trump's most vocal defenders, used his latest podcast episode to pose a question that would have been unthinkable from him two years ago: whether the president's behavior fits biblical descriptions of the antichrist.
The former Fox News star made the remarks on The Tucker Carlson Show after Trump posted a series of images on Truth Social depicting himself alongside, and in the likeness of, Jesus Christ. The posts drew sharp criticism from figures across the political spectrum, but Carlson's commentary marked the sharpest break yet between the two men.
Carlson, who was fired from Fox News in 2023, had been among Trump's most fervent media supporters for years. His turn is part of a wider fracture between the president and several prominent conservative media voices, a rift that has deepened over U.S. policy toward Iran and what Carlson frames as a pattern of self-exaltation that mocks the Christian faith.
On Thursday, Trump shared an image on Truth Social showing himself being embraced by Jesus. That post came days after he had shared a separate image that appeared to depict him as Christ, reportedly in a white cloak, healing a man on a hospital bed. Trump later claimed the hospital-bed image was meant to portray him as a doctor, not as Jesus.
The images sparked what the Daily Mail described as "furious backlash." But it was Carlson's response that drew the most attention, because of who he is and what he used to represent in Trump's media orbit.
On his show, Carlson cited passages from both the Old and New Testaments that describe a figure who will exalt himself above God. He quoted scripture warning of a leader who would "exalt and magnify himself above every God" and described the "coming of a King who will do as he pleases."
Then Carlson applied it directly to Trump.
"Here is a leader who is mocking the Gods of his ancestors, mocking the God of Gods, and exalting himself above them."
He described Trump's social media behavior as "mocking" Christianity and referenced the biblical "man of lawlessness" before asking the question plainly.
"To a lot of Christians, these predictions in both the Old and New Testament seem to fit what we are watching. Could this be the antichrist?"
Carlson also cited the Bible's warning: "He will pose as God. He will mock other Gods, and put himself in their place."
The antichrist comparison did not emerge in a vacuum. It came amid a broader and increasingly personal falling-out between Trump and Carlson over U.S. foreign policy, specifically, the administration's posture toward Iran.
Carlson has accused Trump of moving toward what he called "the first step toward nuclear war" with Iran. He reportedly urged Trump's own aides to resist any such order. That kind of direct appeal to staff around a sitting president is extraordinary, even by the standards of Trump-era media combat.
Trump responded with open contempt. In a phone call with the New York Post, Trump said Carlson is "a low IQ person that has absolutely no idea what's going on." He added: "He calls me all the time; I don't respond to his calls. I don't deal with him. I like dealing with smart people, not fools."
The White House also denied claims that Vice President JD Vance had implied Trump might use nuclear weapons, calling that interpretation false.
This is not the first time Trump has publicly clashed with conservative media figures who questioned his Iran stance. The dispute has drawn in multiple prominent voices from the right, including Megyn Kelly and Alex Jones.
Running alongside the Carlson split is an escalating confrontation between Trump and Pope Leo XIV, the 70-year-old Chicago-born pontiff who has become a vocal critic of the president's foreign policy in recent weeks.
On a trip to Cameroon this week, Pope Leo visited Bamenda, a city in a region gripped by a separatist insurgency for nearly a decade, and delivered pointed remarks that many interpreted as directed at the White House. He condemned what he called "an endless cycle of destabilization and death" and said the world is being "ravaged by a handful of tyrants."
The Pope called for a "decisive change of course" and used language that left little room for diplomatic ambiguity:
"The masters of war pretend not to know that it takes only a moment to destroy, yet often a lifetime is not enough to rebuild. They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education and restoration are nowhere to be found."
He also described Trump's rhetoric as "truly unacceptable" and used the word "bloodstained" in his broader condemnation.
Trump fired back on Truth Social on Sunday, branding Pope Leo "a very liberal person" who is "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy." He said the Pope was elected "because he was an American" and claimed credit for Leo's rise: "If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican."
Trump went further: "I don't think he's doing a very good job. He likes crime I guess." And: "We don't like a pope who says it's ok to have a nuclear weapon. We don't want a pope that says crime is ok. I am not a fan of Pope Leo."
Polling suggests that despite the noise, Republican voters still side with Trump over Carlson and other media critics on the Iran question by a wide margin. That may explain why Trump has felt comfortable escalating rather than smoothing over the dispute.
Carlson's trajectory from Trump loyalist to antichrist theorist is worth tracking carefully. He was one of Fox News's biggest stars before his firing in 2023. He rebuilt his audience independently and remained a forceful advocate for Trump's agenda, until the Iran confrontation opened a gap that has now widened into something much larger.
The religious dimension is new. Carlson is not simply arguing that Trump's foreign policy is wrong. He is arguing that Trump's public self-presentation, the AI-generated images, the Christ-like poses, the social media spectacle, crosses a theological line that should alarm believing Christians.
That is a different kind of criticism than anything Trump has faced from the left. Progressive critics have called Trump many things, but they have not typically grounded their objections in scripture. Carlson is speaking to an audience that takes biblical prophecy seriously, and he is doing so as someone who spent years building credibility with that audience on Trump's behalf.
Whether Carlson's argument gains traction or fades into the noise of the broader media conflict remains to be seen. Trump has survived internal conservative revolts before. He has also defended allies and punished critics within conservative media with consistent effectiveness.
But the antichrist framing is not a policy disagreement that can be resolved by a phone call or a rally. It is a claim about character, faith, and the nature of power itself. And it came not from MSNBC or the editorial board of the New York Times, but from a man who spent years telling millions of conservative viewers that Trump was the answer.
The broader pattern of dramatic ruptures within Trump's orbit has become a recurring feature of this presidency. What makes this one different is the terrain on which it is being fought, not tariffs, not personnel, not even war powers, but the question of whether a president's public persona has crossed into blasphemy.
Several things remain unclear. The exact dates of Carlson's remarks and Trump's posts are reported only in relative terms, "Thursday," "Sunday," "this week." The full text of Trump's explanation for the hospital-bed image has not been published in detail. And it is not yet clear whether Carlson's antichrist commentary represents a sustained editorial direction or a single provocative episode.
What is clear is that the conservative coalition Trump assembled is under real strain. The Iran debate cracked it open. The religious imagery poured salt in the wound. And Carlson, once the most effective media advocate Trump had, is now asking his audience to measure the president against the warnings of Daniel and Thessalonians.
When the people who built your megaphone start using it to read scripture against you, the problem is no longer about messaging. It is about trust, and whether the base that carried you to power still recognizes the man asking for their faith.
