Tucker Carlson continued to be a polarizing individual regarding who he interviews, the views he professes or at least doesn’t push back against regarding Israel, and some of his own faith proclamations. More recently, he has polarized professing Christians regarding his claims that he was attacked by a demon in his own bedroom. Carlson first went public regarding the attack last year in the documentary “Christianities?” hosted by John Heers and directed by Scooter Downey, who comes from an Eastern Orthodox background. Carlson claimed he was asleep in his bed with this wife when the attack occurred, stating he was “in my bed at night and I got attacked while I was asleep with my wife and four dogs in the bed and mauled, physically mauled … by a demon or by something unseen that left claw marks on my sides.” After the attack, Carlson felt an intense need to read the Bible.

Carlson revisited the claims during an interview with Megyn Kelly. Kelly admitted that demonic attacks seemed more likely than ever, particularly in light of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Carlson said he believed the attack had happened because the day before, when he was able to feel love towards someone he had hated. “And I felt total true empathy for this person I truly hated. It was like the craziest thing that’s ever happened to me. I have no idea where it came from,” he said.

Carlson shared that he’d had other experiences of love. “I’ve had a couple other experiences — not that crazy — but where you really feel God’s presence, which is marked by peace and true empathy; love for other people, which doesn’t come naturally to me… But you know it when God is acting through you, and then they’re followed by some wild attack. Like, why?” The following day’s attack was not something he had expected. “Culturally, I’m just not from a world where people are attacked by demons,” he admitted. Carlson’s critics have attempted to paint his claims of demonic attack in a political light, claiming he is linking Democrats to demons. Some have suggested Carlson’s experience is linked to the New Apostolic Reformation movement, which is highly criticized in evangelical circles for its emphasis on new revelation, demonic attacks, and spiritual warfare. Carlson noted that he had opened himself up to criticism by publicly sharing the attack. But he refused to back down. “I’m not embarrassed at all, and I don’t care if I’m mocked,” he said. “I don’t get anything out of making this up, and I’m not making it up.”