Controversial American media personality Tucker Carlson has continued his string of increasingly extreme remarks, questioning in an interview with a former British lawmaker published over the weekend why Britain fought Nazi Germany in World War II.
Carlson argued that Hitler’s invasion of Poland followed a territorial dispute over former German lands, saying “the UK had nothing to do with it at all.”
Watch the interview excerpt starting at 31:53:
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Carlson: 'The idea that Hitler just randomly rolled into Poland is a lie'
(Photo: Three Lions/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The interview was with former Conservative Party lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg and focused on his support for sending aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia. The discussion turned to the killing of innocent civilians, with Rees-Mogg saying: “I think it’s very difficult to have fought the Second World War without innocent people being killed.”
Carlson replied: “I've never understood why fight the Second World War in the first place.”
He went on: “Hitler said that 15% [of Poland] was once Germany and it was given to Poland at the Treaty of Versailles. That was German territory with Germans in it. That was his case. And by the way, that was true.”
Carlson continued: “I’m certainly not here defending Hitler. I’m just saying the idea that Hitler just randomly rolled into Poland is a lie and everyone believes it because they know nothing about the actual facts. But the truth is, Germany had big pieces of it carved off, including part of Prussia and it was given to this other country. It infuriated the Germans. Maybe it shouldn’t have, but it did. And that was a justification for it. The UK had nothing to do with it at all.”
'Is it a better country than it was?' Carlson
(Photo: Alex Brandon/AP)
Rees-Mogg sought to defend Britain’s decision to enter the war, while Carlson insisted that the British “destroyed their empire and their country fighting this war that they still pretend was a good idea, but it wasn’t.”
The exchange then continued:
Rees-Mogg: “It was fundamental. It was the classic good-versus-evil.”
Carlson: “Has the UK benefited from it?”
Rees-Mogg: “We did the right thing.”
Carlson: “Is it a better country than it was?”
Rees-Mogg: “To have defeated Hitler? Yes.”
Carlson: “So the UK is a better country now? It’s a healthier country now?”
Rees-Mogg: “Otherwise, we’d all be speaking German.”
Carlson: “Who cares? There are a lot of people in Britain who can’t speak English. So it would be nice to have, like, at least a European language spoken in your country.”
Rees-Mogg: “No, I see no advantage of speaking German over any other language. We want to speak English, thank you so much.”
Carlson, formerly a popular Fox News host, has for years been one of the most prominent voices on the populist right in the United States and until a few years ago was considered a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump. Their relationship has deteriorated in recent years, reaching a low point amid Carlson’s opposition to the war in Iran.
At around the same time, against the backdrop of close ties between the United States and the Netanyahu government, Carlson began promoting antisemitic and anti-Israel conspiracy theories about Jewish power and influence in politics, the media and other spheres. In July, he announced that he would establish a new party and declared: “Israel is destroying my country.”