Tucker Carlson criticized for hosting historian who downplayed Nazi crimes on his podcast

Tucker Carlson is facing criticism from both liberals and conservatives after airing controversial statements by podcaster and self-proclaimed historian Darryl Cooper on ‘The Tucker Carlson Show’. 

During the episode, Cooper claimed that "millions of people ended up dead" in Nazi concentration camps and painted UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill as the "chief villain" of World War II.

Carlson, who shared the episode on X (formerly Twitter), praised Cooper, calling him "the best and most honest popular historian in the United States." 

The episode, which covered topics like Christianity and authoritarian leaders such as Viktor Orbán and Vladimir Putin, also featured Cooper making a series of debunked claims.

Cooper, whose podcast ‘Martyr Made’ has surged in popularity since the episode aired, initially rose to fame with a viral Twitter thread in July 2021, which sought to explain the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

In his interview with Carlson, Cooper argued that Churchill was "primarily responsible" for the escalation of World War II, though he stopped short of praising Hitler. 

Instead, Cooper suggested that Hitler’s mistake was entering into a war for which Germany was unprepared, leading to the imprisonment and eventual deaths of millions. 

"They went in with no plan for that and they just threw these people into camps," Cooper said. "And millions of people ended up dead there."

Historians and critics have pointed out that Cooper's remarks downplay the systematic extermination of six million Jews during the Holocaust. 

Cooper also controversially claimed that Churchill “wanted” to wage war and described British bombings during the war as “gigantic-scale terrorist attacks.”

The episode sparked outrage across the political spectrum. Former congresswoman Liz Cheney took to X, calling Cooper’s remarks “pro-Nazi propaganda” and writing, “No serious or honorable person would support or endorse this type of garbage.” 

Conservative commentator Erick Erickson also criticized Carlson for giving Cooper a platform, calling him a "contrarian moral cretin" and accusing him of promoting Nazi apologetics.

Sohrab Ahmari, founder of conservative magazine ‘Compact’, echoed these concerns, writing, “This is just the same old Hitler apologetic. There isn’t any historiography behind it. This 'popular historian' just makes conclusory claims. Shameful.”