Mark Levin Accuses Tucker ‘Qatarlson’ Of Leaking ‘And Planting Stories’ About Him: ‘A Desperate Man’
AP Photo/Alex Brandon & AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Fox News host Mark Levin accused his former colleague Tucker Carlson of “planting stories with his media pals” on Wednesday, an apparent response to a Politico report that Levin was pressuring President Donald Trump to let Israel bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Carlson, a longtime dove, has attacked Levin in recent weeks over his hawkish stance on Iran and for being pro-Israel. The two have engaged in a war of words of late that has exemplified the split in the GOP between the more hawkish establishment and the rising isolationist wing of the party.
“Chatsworth Qatarlson is very angry. Busy leaking to and planting stories with his media pals. Burning up his cellphone with calls to his embeds in government and his Koch-heads at the Quincy institute. A desperate man does desperate things. God bless Team America!” Levin wrote on X, adding more fuel to their ongoing feud. He also linked to a recent episode of his radio show, hitting back at Carlson, who attacked him for “lobbying for war with Iran.”
Levin’s “Qatarlson” jab is a reference both to Qatar’s close relationship with Iran and also recent reports of Qatar lobbying conservative media figures for favorable coverage – including Carlson.
The Washington Examiner’s Robert Schmad reported on Qatar’s big-dollar efforts in May, writing, “Perhaps Qatar’s biggest victory in its post-election right-wing media campaign thus far was securing an interview between Tucker Carlson and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in March. The interview, which has raked up nearly six million views across X and YouTube, was friendly, with Carlson praising the country.” Schmad added:
Qatar paid top dollar to ensure this interview took place. Foreign Agents Registration Act records show that Lumen8 Advisors LLC, a legal consulting company for which very little public information is available, helped facilitate between Carlson and the Qatari dignitary. The Embassy of the State of Qatar pays Lumen8 Advisors $180,000 per month “to provide media and communication coaching and consulting services.”
The story Levin appeared to be suggesting Carlson “planted” was titled, “Inside the MAGA vs. hawk battle to sway Trump on bombing Iran,” and included a paragraph that reported Levin told Trump Iran was days away from a nuclear bomb.
“During a private lunch with the president at the White House last Wednesday, conservative talk show host Mark Levin told Trump that Iran was days away from building a nuclear weapon, an argument Trump’s own intelligence team has told the president is not accurate, according to an intelligence official as well as another Trump ally familiar with the matter,” read the report, adding:
Levin urged Trump to allow the Israeli government to strike Iranian nuclear sites, which Trump has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would torpedo the diplomacy.
Mediaite covered the Politico story, which also elicited an angry response from Levin. In his attack on Mediaite, he also defended his claim regarding how close Iran is to a nuclear bomb. Levin cited CENTCOM Commander General Michael Kurilla, who testified this week that Iran could produce “weapons-grade material in roughly one week.”
Levin defended his position and took another swipe at Carlson, “I’d just add: if the intel is as Gabbard and Chatsworth Qatarlson say and not as virtually everyone else has said, then why all the fuss? If Iran is harmlessly going about the business of making nuclear power for domestic use, then what are these morons worried about? POTUS wouldn’t launch military action if that’s the case. He has said repeatedly he would prefer a deal.”
