Did Tucker Carlson Really Call Angela Merkel “a Criminal”?
Quick answer: No independent evidence shows he ever said it. BILD is the only outlet claiming the quote, and it has not released the tape.
But why would Germany’s biggest tabloid risk printing a bombshell line no one else can hear? And what does it tell us about Tucker Carlson’s uneasy dance with Donald Trump—or about the way viral headlines leap ahead of facts? Grab a coffee; the trail from Maine’s pine forests to Berlin’s newsrooms is surprisingly twisty.
1. The Vanishing Quote
BILD screamed the charge on 19 July 2025:
“MAGA-Influencer Tucker Carlson teilt aus – ‘Merkel ist eine Kriminelle!’”
Yet outside that pay-walled page, the sentence is a ghost.
- We scoured YouTube, Rumble, X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, Truth Social and Carlson’s own site.
- We ran German and English keyword searches—“Merkel ist eine Kriminelle”, “Merkel criminal Carlson”, “Carlson Ronzheimer Maine”.
- Zero hits beyond the original BILD splash and a handful of obscure blogs that recycled it.
Bottom line: Until BILD releases raw footage or a transcript, the quote remains unverified.
Think of it as a viral tweet everyone discusses—but no screenshot ever surfaces.
2. What Is Confirmed: Carlson in the Woods
One part of the story does check out. Carlson owns a studio/second home in Woodstock, Maine where he records shows.
Bangor Daily News photographed the rebuilt barn-turned-studio last year, complete with satellite uplink.
So could BILD reporter Paul Ronzheimer have met him there? Sure—Maine is real, Carlson is there often. What we cannot confirm:
- that Ronzheimer actually traveled to Maine;
- that the interview ran two hours;
- or that any interview happened at all.
No travel selfies, no teaser clips, no behind-the-scenes shots—highly unusual for two media personalities who live online.
3. The Carlson-Trump “Bromance” That Wasn’t—Until It Was
BILD calls Carlson an “enger Vertrauter Trumps” (“close confidant”). Reality is murkier:
- 2023: Texts revealed in a Dominion lawsuit show Carlson writing, “I hate him passionately.” (Washington Post)
- 2024: Onstage in Iowa, Carlson pledged he’d “lead protests” if Trump were convicted. (CBS News)
So, aligned today, combative yesterday—hardly the steady friendship implied by “confidant.”
4. How We Checked (and How You Can Too)
- Visited BILD’s headline (pay-walled).
- Ran multi-language searches via Google, Bing, Yandex.
- Searched Carlson’s official channels.
- Queried media archives (LexisNexis, TVEyes) for July 2025.
- Looked for Ronzheimer travel posts on X/Instagram.
- Cross-checked Maine property records and local news.
The silence was deafening.
5. Why an Unverified Quote Matters
- Germany’s former chancellor being branded “a criminal” by America’s most famous right-wing pundit would turbo-charge EU-US political chatter.
- Misinformation spreads faster than denial; once the headline is out, screenshots live forever.
- BILD’s claim, if wrong, could expose it to legal headaches and reader backlash.
Media-literacy lesson: pause before sharing the outrage.
6. What We Don’t Know (Yet)
- Did Carlson use a softer phrase that got sharpened in translation?
- Is BILD sitting on embargoed video, planning a later release for maximum clicks?
- Could a recording eventually surface proving the quote accurate?
Until one of those questions breaks, the story is Schrödinger’s soundbite—alive and dead at once.
7. Takeaways in Plain English
Verified
- Carlson owns and works from a studio in Maine.
- He now publicly backs Donald Trump despite past private disdain.
Unverified / Needs Evidence
- Carlson calling Merkel “a criminal.”
- A two-hour Maine interview with BILD’s Paul Ronzheimer.
- The claim that Carlson is a “close confidant” of Trump (relationship is hot-cold).
8. So, Should You Believe the Headline?
Treat it like a spicy rumor at a dinner party: smile, ask for proof, and keep eating until someone shows the receipts.
Until video or transcript emerges, assume the quote is unproven.
Footnotes & Source Links
- BILD headline (pay-wall): Bild
- Carlson’s Maine studio: Bangor Daily News
- Carlson texts about Trump: Washington Post
- 2024 Trump endorsement: CBS News
If BILD or Tucker Carlson releases the full interview, we’ll update this piece. Until then, the headline remains more sizzle than steak.