U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Thursday forcefully rejected Tucker Carlson’s claim that he and his staff were detained and harassed by Israeli airport authorities following an interview, calling the allegations unfounded and contradicted by surveillance footage.

Appearing on Newsmax’s “American Agenda,” Huckabee said new evidence undermines Carlson’s account. “Something has surfaced that totally blows this out of the water,” Huckabee said.

“Tucker Carlson is seen on surveillance video in the lounge, and he’s hugging and taking photos with the very airport employees that supposedly detained him and harassed him,” the ambassador added.

Carlson told The Daily Mail that after conducting an interview with Huckabee, airport personnel approached his team. “men who identified themselves as airport security took our passports, hauled our executive producer into a side room, and then demanded to know what we spoke to Ambassador Huckabee about,” Carlson said.

“It was bizarre,” Carlson said. “We’re now out of the country.”

Huckabee described Carlson’s version of events as exaggerated and inaccurate, saying the episode had been mischaracterized. Calling the claims “really unfortunate,” he then used sarcasm to challenge the portrayal.

“I’ll tell you, they roughed him up with all kinds of special snacks. They took his picture, they hugged him,” Huckabee said.

“For this ridiculously untrue story about how he was detained, he was not,” the ambassador added.

Israeli officials have also denied that Carlson was mistreated. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett went further, sharply criticizing the conservative commentator and dismissing his narrative.

“The guy who’s been spouting lies about Israel for the past two years, landed today at Ben Gurion airport, took a quick picture in the logistics zone, tweeted it to pretend he’s actually IN Israel (so he can later claim that he’s a serious reporter who toured Israel), didn’t even step foot in country, then made up a story that he’s being supposedly harassed by our security (didn’t happen), whined about it, got back into the private jet and flew off,” Bennett wrote on X.

“Next time he talks about Israel as if he’s some expert, just remember this guy is a phony!” he added.

Huckabee emphasized that standard airport screening procedures apply to all travelers entering or leaving Israel, including himself.

“They looked at his passport. They looked at everybody’s passport,” he said.

“They asked him the standard questions they ask everyone coming in or out of the country.”

The ambassador noted that he too is subject to routine checks. Huckabee said he must present his diplomatic visa each time he travels and that authorities “ask me the same questions.”

The controversy comes as Carlson and Huckabee represent two distinct strands within the broader Christian MAGA movement, reflecting wider disagreements within Republican circles over Israel policy, according to The Jewish News.

Carlson, a prominent conservative media figure, has increasingly voiced criticism of Israel on his platform, influencing a growing segment of younger right-leaning activists and political hopefuls.

Huckabee, in contrast, is a well-known evangelical Christian Zionist who has long supported Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank.

The interview itself followed public tension between the two men. Huckabee had sought a sit-down after Carlson accused him on his podcast of failing to challenge what Carlson described as Israeli demonization of Christians.

Carlson eventually agreed to the interview and posted a photograph Wednesday showing his arrival ahead of the discussion.