US ambassador says would be “fine” if ‘Israel’ seized the Middle East

• US Ambassador Mike Huckabee stated it would be "fine" if ‘Israel’ claimed the biblical "Promised Land" (stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates), grounding his diplomatic stance in religious conviction
• The interview highlights a deepening rift within the Republican base between traditional Christian Zionists like Huckabee and "America First" critics like Tucker Carlson, who has recently scrutinized ‘Israel's’ treatment of local Christian communities.

US Ambassador to ‘Israel’ Mike Huckabee told Tucker Carlson that he believes it would be “fine” if ‘Israel’ claimed all the territory historically described in the Bible as the "Promised Land"; a region stretching from the Nile River in Egypt to the Euphrates River in Syria and Iraq.

Huckabee, a Baptist minister and former Governor of Arkansas, was confirmed as the US Ambassador in early 2025. He is widely viewed as the most outspoken "Christian Zionist" to ever hold the post.

The Biblical Debate: From the Nile to the Euphrates

Carlson and Huckabee’s conversation centered on the interpretation of Genesis 15, where God makes a covenant with Abraham.

Carlson, who has recently become a vocal critic of unconditional US support for ‘Israel’, pressed Huckabee on the literal implications of this biblical text.

“The area God promised to Abraham’s descendants would include basically the entire Middle East,” Carlson pointed out during the exchange.

“The Levant—Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon—it’d also be big parts of Saudi Arabia and Iraq.”

Huckabee responded by grounding his diplomatic mission in religious conviction.

“Israel is a land that God gave, through Abraham, to a people that he chose,” Huckabee said. “It was a people, a place, and a purpose.”

When Carlson directly asked if ‘Israel’ had the right to claim that massive expanse of land today, Huckabee’s reply was blunt: “It would be fine if they took it all.”

The Ambassador tempered the remark, characterizing it as "somewhat hyperbolic" and claimed that the modern “State of Israel” is not actively pursuing such vast borders.

“They’re not asking to go back to take all of that,” Huckabee argued.

“But they are asking to at least take the land that they now occupy, they now live in, they now own legitimately, and it is a safe haven for them.”

"Does that right [to the land] extend to other countries other than Israel? I'm just trying to understand the concept here. ... Does every nation have the same right to its own physical land that you say Israel does?" Carlson asked.

"I think it applies specifically to Israel. It applies to anyone who can prove that they have some connection to the land, connection to the history, and connection to international law. But Israel, I think, does have an extraordinary case,” Huckabee answered.

Background: Deepening GOP Rift

The interview follows a period of escalating tension between the two men. Earlier in February 2026, Carlson traveled through the Middle East, producing reports that revealed the ‘Israeli’ government mistreating local Christian communities.

He specifically criticized Huckabee for “failing Jerusalem’s Christians.”

Huckabee responded on social media, challenging Carlson to a face-to-face sit-down.

The resulting interview, conducted at Ben Gurion Airport, highlights a growing fissure within the Republican base: a "traditional" pro-‘Israel’ wing led by figures like Huckabee versus a more isolationist or critical "America First" wing represented by Carlson.

Diplomatic Fallout

Critics argue that Huckabee’s comments undermine the official US position, which traditionally supports a two-state solution.

Since his appointment, Huckabee has famously refused to use the term "West Bank," preferring the biblical "Judea and Samaria," and has expressed support for ‘Israeli’ sovereignty over settlements.