NBC, like other major American media organizations, reported on Tucker Carlson’s recent interview of U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.
But in a video segment on Feb. 22, 2026, NBC International Correspondent Matt Bradley said Amb. Huckabee is “also a Christian Zionist, which means he’s an evangelical Christian who believes that creating a Jewish state in the land that he [Huckabee] says was given to the Jews in the bible will usher in the second coming of Christ.”
This, however, is not at all how Amb. Huckabee defined “Christian Zionist” in his interview with Carlson.
In the actual interview with Carlson, Amb. Huckabee explicitly asked Carlson, “What is a Christian Zionist? What does that mean to you?” When Carlson said he didn’t know, Amb. Huckabee went on to define it as follows: “A Christian, I think we can agree, is somebody who follows Jesus Christ.” Amb. Huckabee then explored in more detail what following Jesus means (having absolutely nothing to do with Israel). He then went on to define Zionist and said, “A Zionist simply means a person who believes that the Jewish people have a right to have a homeland where they have security and safety.”
Amb. Huckabee put an exclamation point on this definition when he asked Carlson, “Do you believe that Jews have a right to live in Israel? That would be a Zionist. That’s all a Zionist is.” Simply stated, Amb. Huckabee defined ‘Christian’ and defined ‘Zionist,’ and that is how he defined “Christian Zionist.” No mention was made of a second coming of Christ or land given to Jews in the bible.
Based on a 2024 survey, only one-third of the American population was familiar with the term “Zionism” and only 14% could correctly define it. In these times when definitions of words have been twisted and become politically charged, it is crucial that the media not add to the confusion through misreporting a clear and concise definition given by the American ambassador to Israel.
As Bradley seemed to create his own definition of “Christian Zionist” while attributing it to Amb. Huckabee, CAMERA reached out to NBC News to request a correction.