Tucker Carlson
Role at the time: Host, The Tucker Carlson Show
Statement summary
Interviewing Max Blumenthal, Tucker Carlson asked whether the Hannibal Directive was a real concept and whether Israeli forces killed hostages on purpose, then remarked that it was "so evil."
“Come on. They killed the hostages on purpose?”
Tucker Carlson's interview with Max Blumenthal on his YouTube show; the exchange about the Hannibal Directive begins about 29 minutes in.
Why we used this label
The reference point is Israeli fire on October 7, 2023, under or in the manner of the Hannibal Directive, that put Israeli captives at risk of being killed by Israeli forces. Carlson responds to Blumenthal's account with incredulous questions and then calls it "so evil," without stating his own conclusion about what happened. His judgment depends on the account being true. The closest competing label is Condemned, but his remarks are framed as questions about whether the account is real.