Tucker Carlson claims UK had no reason to join WWII, appears to defend Hitler's invasion of Poland

"The idea that Hitler just randomly rolled into Poland is a lie… Hitler repeatedly said, ‘I do not want to go to war with the UK,’” Tucker Carlson said in a recent interview with Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson claimed that the UK fighting in World War II was not a good idea and appeared to defend elements of Adolf Hitler's justification for invading Poland during a Friday interview with former UK business secretary Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg.

During the hour-long interview, as the two debated Britain's historical role in European conflicts and the legacy of World War II, Carlson asserted that he “never understood why fight the Second World War in the first place,” arguing that the UK should not have defended Poland from Nazi invasion because Britain “had nothing to do with it at all.”

“Well, Hitler said that 15% of Poland was once Germany and it was given to Poland at the Treaty of Versailles,” Carlson continued, claiming that he was not defending Adolf Hitler. “That was German territory with Germans in it. That was his case. And by the way, that was true.”

“The UK had nothing to do with it at all. And they destroyed their empire and their country fighting this war that they still pretend was a good idea, but it wasn't,” Carlson said of Britain's involvement in the Second World War. 

He further alleged that “the idea that Hitler just randomly rolled into Poland is a lie… Hitler repeatedly said, ‘I do not want to go to war with the UK,’” he continued.

Rees-Mogg challenges Carlson on Hitler remarks

Rees-Mogg expressed surprise at Carlson’s remarks about Hitler.

“I'm very surprised you're verging on defending Hitler. I think this is not really what you want to be doing," he said.

“Yeah, I guess I'm just a secret Nazi,” Carlson replied before quickly asserting, “I'm actually not a secret Nazi. And hardly a public Nazi. I'm just someone who tries to think clearly about cause and effect.”

Rees-Mogg defended the UK’s actions, asserting that World War II “was the classic good versus evil.”

“Germany would eventually have invaded us,” Rees-Mogg continued.

Throughout the conversation, Carlson circled back to the topic of World War II, repeatedly asking Rees-Mogg if defeating the Nazis and protecting the UK’s allies were “worth losing everything” and “destroying all of Europe.”

Carlson asserted that from his perspective, World War II caused Britain to lose sovereignty and self-respect. “I don't think it was a good thing for you at all,” he told Rees-Mogg.