American media personality Tucker Carlson drew sharp criticism from prominent conservative figures after questioning whether Britain should have fought Nazi Germany in World War II.
The remarks came during an interview with former British lawmaker Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, posted to Carlson's account on X on Friday.
The discussion ranged from contemporary security risks to the historical value of Western military interventions.
When Rees-Mogg noted that civilian casualties were difficult to avoid during the Second World War, Carlson responded: "I've never understood why fight the Second World War in the first place."
Rees-Mogg defended Britain's entry into the conflict, saying that defeating Nazi Germany was essential to preventing an occupation of the British Isles.
"Otherwise we'd be speaking German," the former Conservative Party lawmaker said.
Carlson dismissed the language argument, pointing to modern demographic shifts in the United Kingdom.
"Who cares? There are a lot of people in Britain who can't speak English.
So it would be nice to have at least a European language spoken in your country," Carlson said.
Carlson also argued that Nazi Germany held historical territorial claims over Polish lands separated after World War I.
"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," he said.
Rees-Mogg expressed astonishment at the line of questioning, pointing to the moral imperative behind resisting foreign aggression.
"I think this is not really what you want to be doing," Rees-Mogg said.
Carlson rejected assertions that he was offering an explicit defense of Nazi leadership or its ideology.
"Yeah, I guess I'm just a secret Nazi. I'm actually not a secret Nazi ...
and hardly a public Nazi," he said.
Carlson further argued that the war effort destroyed the British Empire without providing tangible benefits to the domestic population.
"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," he said.
"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."
Rees-Mogg held firm, stating that confronting an expansionist dictatorship was fundamentally a moral necessity.
"It was fundamental. It was the classic good-versus-evil," he said.
Carlson continued to press whether British society improved following the Allied victory.
"Has the UK benefited from it?" Carlson asked.
"To have defeated Hitler? Yes," Rees-Mogg replied.
Carlson again questioned the health and state of the nation today.
"So the UK is a better country now? It's a healthier country now?"
he asked.
"No, I see no advantage of speaking German over any other language. We want to speak English, thank you so much," Rees-Mogg said.
During their broader conversation on deterrence, Rees-Mogg reiterated the importance of military preparedness regarding Russia.
"We're not picking a fight with Russia. We just want to be strong," he said.
The exchange drew immediate criticism from Republicans and commentators in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
U. S.
Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee criticized Carlson on social media, questioning how anyone could downplay the loss of 11 million lives under Nazi rule.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz stated that both the United States and Britain are demonstrably better off for winning World War II.
