WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday brushed aside concerns about conservative commentator Tucker Carlson's recent interview with a far-right activist known for his antisemitic views, which has caused a schism within the Republican Party.
Trump defended Carlson, saying the former Fox News host has “said good things about me over the years.” He said if Carlson wants to interview Nick Fuentes, whose followers see themselves as working to preserve America’s white, Christian identity, then "people have to decide.” Trump did not criticize Carlson or Fuentes.
Fuentes appeared to appreciate Trump's sentiment, posting “Thank you Mr. President!” along with video of his interaction with reporters.
Carlson had an amiable sit-down on his podcast last month with Fuentes that touched off a controversy among conservatives. It roiled the Heritage Foundation, where the president of the right-wing think tank defended Carlson for his interview, drawing outrage from staffers. Heritage President Kevin Roberts later denounced Fuentes' views.
Trump told reporters as he prepared to fly back to Washington from a weekend in Florida that when it comes to Carlson, “You can’t tell him who to interview.”
“If he wants to interview Nick Fuentes, I don’t know much about him, but if he wants to do it, get the word out,” Trump said. "People have to decide.”
Trump a few minutes later added, “Meeting people, talking to people for somebody like Tucker — that’s what they do. You know, people are controversial."
The president then said: “I’m not controversial, so I like it that way.”
It's not the first time Trump has been asked about Fuentes. Three years ago, he hosted Fuentes at a dinner at his Mar-a-Lago resort, along with the rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West.
Trump at the time said he had not previously met Fuentes and “knew nothing about” him.
Fuentes’ visit to Trump’s estate was condemned by numerous Republicans, including former Vice President Mike Pence, who said it was wrong for Trump “to give a white nationalist, an antisemite and Holocaust denier, a seat at the table.”
Trump said Sunday that he didn't know Fuentes at the time and that he didn't know he was coming with Ye.
Trump's defense of Carlson's interview comes as he has used his second-term administration to crack down on colleges and universities over what his administration claims is a tolerance of antisemitic views during protests over the Israel-Hamas war.
Carlson has been critical of U.S. support for Israel in that war and has come under fire for his own far-right views, including the white-supremacist theory that says whites are being “replaced” by people of color.
Price reported from Washington.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach Fla., on his way back to the White House, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Explosions echoed across Beirut early Monday as Israel struck the Lebanese capital. It also launched a new wave of attacks on Tehran, while Dubai was forced to temporarily close its airport after an Iranian drone hit a fuel tank.
Since being attacked by the United States and Israel more than two weeks ago, Iran has been regularly hitting Israel, American bases and its Gulf Arab neighbors' energy infrastructure with drones and missiles.
It has also effectively stopped shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, giving rise to growing fears of a global energy crisis and putting pressure on Washington as consumers are already feeling the pain at the pump.
Brent crude, the international standard, remained stubbornly over $100 a barrel on Monday. It was at $104 in early trading, up nearly 45% since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. It has spiked as high as about $120 during the conflict.
President Donald Trump said he has made demands to about seven countries to send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, but his appeals have brought no commitments. His party is growingly concerned that rising prices for American consumers will hurt the Republicans in elections this fall.
“I’m demanding that these countrie s come in and protect their own territory, because it is their own territory,” Trump told reporters as he flew back to Washington from Florida aboard Air Force One. He did not identify the countries, but has previously appealed to China, France, Japan, South Korea and Britain.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called claims that his country may be seeking a negotiated end to the war “delusional,” saying in a social media post early Monday that his country was seeking neither “truce nor talks.”
“Our Powerful Armed Forces will keep firing until POTUS realizes that illegal war he's imposing on both Americans and Iranians is wrong and must never be repeated,” he wrote on X.
As morning broke Monday, a drone hit a fuel tank near Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest for international passenger traffic, causing a large fire.
Firefighters were able to contain the blaze and there were no injuries reported but the airport temporarily suspended all flights. Emirates, which uses the airport as its main hub, said all of its flights were “suspended until further notice.”
Later, the UAE's Defense Ministry said its forces were working to intercept another round of Iranian missiles and drones.
Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones toward Gulf countries hosting U.S. military assets since the war began. Emirati authorities say most have been intercepted by air defenses, though debris and some drones have fallen inside the country.
Iranian officials have recently accused the UAE of allowing its territory to be used for attacks against Iran. Emirati officials have rejected the allegations as misleading and said the country’s actions have been defensive.
Saudi Arabia, meantime, said it had intercepted a wave of 35 Iranian drones sent at its eastern region, home to major oil installations.
Israel’s military said early Monday that Iran launched missiles toward Israel as well.
Israel’s military says Iran is firing cluster bombs that can evade some air defenses and scatter submunitions across multiple locations.
Massive explosions were heard in Beirut as Israel launched new attacks on the Lebanese capital before dawn, saying it was striking infrastructure related to the Iran-linked Hezbollah militia group.
The Israeli army has issued evacuation orders for many neighborhoods in Beirut as well as southern Lebanon. To date, over 800,000 people have been displaced by Israel's campaign in Lebanon.
At least 850 people have been killed by Israeli strikes so far, including 107 children and 66 women.
Not long after Israel's military announced it had launched new strikes on Tehran targeting infrastructure, explosions were heard in the Iranian capital and outlying areas.
More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran so far, according to the Red Cross.
In Israel, 12 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire and more have been injured, including three on Sunday. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed, six in a plane crash in Iraq last week.
On Air Force One, Trump wouldn’t say which countries could be part of the coalition he wants to police the Strait of Hormuz to provide security for oil tankers and other commercial ships passing through.
But he said he won’t forget the countries that decline to help. He namedBritish Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who he said initially declined to put British aircraft carriers “into harm’s way.”
“Whether we get support or not, but I can say this, and I said to them: We will remember,” Trump said.
On Monday Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament that her government “has not heard anything” from Washington about Trump’s call for ships to help protect the Strait of Hormuz.
Japan imports more than 90% of its crude oil from the Middle East, however, and she said there had been discussions about what could be done to protect Japanese ships “regardless of a U.S. request.”
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said he has no plans to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz under the current safety conditions.
Japan on Monday began releasing its oil reserves to address concerns about supply shortages and rising prices.
Trump has speculated that prices would fall, but wouldn't directly answer whether his administration is talking about selling oil futures as a way to cap surging oil prices, something his interior secretary had mentioned as a possibility.
“The prices are going to come tumbling down as soon as it’s over. And it’s going to be over pretty quickly,” he told reporters.
Rising reported from Bangkok and Weissert from aboard Air Force One. Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Adam Schreck in Bangkok contributed to this report.
A protester holds a sign against Donald Trump's demands to multiple countries to send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Debris litters a street from buildings damaged in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
A bulldozer clears debris from the rubble of buildings destroyed in an Israeli airstrike, in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs,, Lebanon, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Fire and plumes of smoke rises after s drone struck a fuel tank forcing the temporary suspension of flights. near Dubai International Airport, in United Arab Emirates, early Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo)
People gather outside an apartment building damaged by an Iranian missile strike in Bnei Brak, Israel, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
People shout slogans during an anti U.S. and Israeli rally outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, March 15, 2026. The sign reads in Turkish: "Leave NATO, close the bases." (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, early Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Volunteers clean debris from a residential building damaged when a nearby police station was hit Friday in a U.S.-Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
People walk past tents sheltering people displaced by Israeli airstrikes at a public space along the Beirut waterfront at sunset in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
