Tucker Carlson said he plans to buy a home in Doha, announcing the move at the Doha Forum on Sunday in an interview with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. Carlson framed the decision as a response to accusations that he has served as a tool of Qatari interests.
“I’ve never taken anything from your country and don’t plan to,” Carlson said to Thani. “I’m an American and a free man, and I’ll be wherever I want to be.”
Carlson restated that he would be giving money to Qatar, not taking money from Qatar, rejecting the idea that he had been ‘bought’.
Thani took the opportunity to justify the money Qatar spends on lobbying in the US, claiming that it is necessary due to the preponderance of disinformation “funded by other players who [don’t] want to see a US-Qatar relationship flourish,” and said if not for the disinformation, the money would be spent on better things.
Thani also emphasized the US-Qatar relationship as mutually beneficial, saying that Qatar and the United States invest in each other rather than the United States providing aid.
Carlson's questionable Qatari ties
Additionally, Tucker Carlson faced widespread criticism this week in the lead-up to his interview with Thani, with much of the backlash centered on Qatar’s ties to Hamas and its role as a global platform for Islamist movements.
Since 2012, Qatar has hosted Hamas's political office in Doha and has transferred hundreds of millions of dollars to the Gaza Strip over the years. This has made Qatar Hamas's main financial supporter and a crucial mediator between Israel and Hamas.
Israeli and Western officials have turned to Qatar to help broker deals for hostages and ceasefires in the region. However, critics argue that Doha is legitimizing Hamas by providing political protection, funding, and a comfortable base of operations.
American right-wing activist Laura Loomer has previously campaigned publicly against Carlson's connections to Qatar, accusing him of being too lenient towards Qatar and Iran, undermining support for Israel.
In June, Loomer shared what she claimed were Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) filings, alleging that Qatar’s US embassy had paid over $200,000 for a previous interview that Carlson conducted with the Qatari prime minister about the region and the war with Iran.
She described the program as a “paid propaganda piece,” although this claim has not been independently verified.
Tucker Carlson has firmly denied any accusations of receiving payments from Qatar.