President Donald Trump hit back at Tucker Carlson on Tuesday after the far-right podcaster used his most recent show to accuse the president of steering the U.S. toward nuclear war with Iran and to suggest, in apocalyptic terms, that Trump might be waging a stealth attack on Christianity.

In a phone interview with the New York Post, Trump described Carlson as a “low IQ” individual who frequently tries to speak with him by phone, adding that he has stopped responding to his calls.

“Tucker’s a low IQ person that has absolutely no idea what’s going on,” Trump told the outlet of Carlson. “He calls me all the time. I don’t respond to his calls. I don’t deal with him. I like dealing with smart people, not fools.”

The remarks came in response to a lengthy monologue Carlson delivered on his Monday podcast. There, Carlson excoriated Trump for issuing an expletive-filled Truth Social post on Easter, in which the president warned that the U.S. was prepared to bomb Iranian power plants and bridges if Tehran did not open the Strait of Hormuz.

Carlson called the post “vile on every level,” particularly for its language on a major Christian holiday, and framed it as the opening move toward nuclear conflict. He speculated that Trump might be pursuing something far larger than conventional military escalation — an effort to provoke Armageddon and undermine Christian faith.

“Is it possible that what you’re watching is a very stealthy yet incredibly effective attack on what, from a Christian perspective, is the true-faith belief in Jesus?” Carlson asked. “Is it possible the president sees this in bigger terms? Sees this as the fulfillment of something? An elevation to some higher office beyond president of the United States?”

“Is it just a conventional escalation ladder in a badly thought out war?” he continued. “Could it be something bigger? Is it possible what you’re watching is a very stealthy yet incredibly effective attack on what, from a Christian perspective, is the true faith: belief in Jesus?”

The former Fox News host then claimed that the reason the president did not put his hand directly on the Bible when being sworn in for his second term last January was because he “rejects” the “limits on human behavior” in the Bible. 

Carlson went on to urge Trump administration officials to resign or refuse to obey orders if the president were to order them to strike Iran with a nuclear weapon. 

“Those people who are in direct contact with the president need to say, ‘No, I’ll resign. I’ll do whatever I can do legally to stop this because this is insane, and if you give the order, I’m not carrying it out. Figure out the codes on the football yourself,’ because everything hangs in the balance right now,” he explained.