Tucker Carlson, formerly Fox News’s most popular host, has been mentioned as a potential candidate to run for president, most likely on the Republican ticket.
Furthermore, it appears that the former host contributed to the rumor, if only temporarily.
Business Insider’s Mattathias Schwartz’s text interview with Carlson previously this week showed that liberal journalists have very little sense of humor when it comes to those who are conservative.
“When I asked Tucker Carlson in a text on Tuesday evening if he was planning a run for president, the newly self-employed far-right firebrand had a shocking answer: ‘Yes. Announcing Friday in New Hampshire,’” Schwartz’s Wednesday article reads.
“But my earthshaking scoop was short-lived. After I credulously asked him to confirm that he was serious before I blasted out the news, which would reshape the 2024 presidential race, the former Fox News broadcaster confirmed what millions of Americans have already concluded: He’s just an a**hole,” he whined petulantly.
When Schwartz enquired about Carlson’s initial claim that he would shortly announce his candidacy in New Hampshire, Carlson replied: “Totally kidding,” he said, before continuing, “Sorry. I can never control myself. I’m fundamentally a d**k. My apologies.”
Some late-night texts with @TuckerCarlson, wherein he says he is indeed running for president, then says he is just kidding about that, then says he is "fundamentally a dick." Story here… https://t.co/OukLuulbGQ pic.twitter.com/4GiF9R3n6b
— Mattathias Schwartz (@Schwartzesque) May 10, 2023
In July, Carlson had been asked if he had any thoughts about running for president during a conversation at the Family Leadership Summit in Des Moines, Iowa.
“When you come back to next year’s summit, will you be the Fox News TV host interviewing potential presidential hopefuls, or will you be a presidential hopeful?” he was asked by an interviewer.
Carlson began by saying, “God knows what the future holds,” before outlining some of the most important concerns in his opinion.
“The people I’m maddest at in the world are the people who don’t do their duty and leave the vulnerable exposed,” Carlson went on.
“It’s the dad who leaves his kids — that’s a guy, I’d just like to punch him in the face. I mean it because that’s your duty. Those are your children, and you left. You don’t care about them.”
“That’s the most basic violation there is. It’s not what the enemy does to you; it’s what people charged with ensuring your welfare do to you,” he added.
Tucker said that these are only a few of the factors “that Republican voters chose Trump.”
“The average Republican voter is not represented in a meaningful way by his or her leaders in Washington, and I cannot stress that enough,” Tucker argued.
“I have every intention of staying in the job that I’m blessed to have, but I’m going to keep hammering that, not because I want to weaken the Republican Party, no, because the Republican Party is our only option. That’s it.”
“We need immediate attention and help. This is an SOS moment,” Tucker warned.
WATCH:
Tucker Carlson Asked If He Will Run For President pic.twitter.com/G41BmQgxo8
— The Columbia Bugle 🇺🇸 (@ColumbiaBugle) July 18, 2022
After being summarily fired by Fox News last month, Carlson is currently having the final laugh. Since he was removed off the air, the network’s ratings has dramatically decreased.
“In the first week after Carlson’s ouster on April 24, the channel’s primetime viewership fell 29.6 percent to 1.449 million viewers, coming in third among cable networks, according to figures from Nielsen,” a Yahoo News report stated.
“Viewership for the network’s 8 p.m. time slot was down 47 percent overall for that week, according to an analysis from former Fox News host Megyn Kelly. The analysis averaged the viewership from the first week of his absence and compared it with the last week he was on the air. Among the key demographic of 25-54-year-olds, ratings were down a whopping 59 percent,” Yahoo continued.
This week, a fresh poll revealed that Carlson continues to enjoy greater popularity among Americans than Fox News.
A week ago, Tucker had expressed interest in presiding over debates for Republican candidates and is said to have explored the idea with former President Donald Trump.
Recently, the former president and front-runner for the Republican nomination suggested boycotting the forums mediated by Fox News since the “hostile” network did not ask his opinion on the matter. The Washington Post reports that Carlson and Trump discussed replacing Fox News as the host moderator in order to “take a jab at his former employer”
The first presidential debate slated for the summer, which will be moderated by Fox News, Carlson’s previous employer, has been threatened by Trump as a no-show.
According to the WaPo article, Carlson appeared ready to forgo millions of dollars and breach his Fox News contract, which is valid through 2024, in order to pursue other options.
The Washington Post report states in part:
Carlson and his team have discussed the possibility of moderating a candidate forum outside of the traditional protocols surrounding the GOP primary debate system, according to two people familiar with the considerations. These people said the setup — as well as Carlson’s availability to take on that kind of role, given the noncompete constraints of his contract with Fox — remain unclear. But Carlson has personally expressed enthusiasm about the idea, according to people familiar with his comments. At least one major candidate — Trump — has told Carlson he’s interested, according to a person familiar with the exchange.
Whatever Tucker decides to do, most of America will continue to love his down-to-earth, humorous way of truth-telling, and covering politics and current events.
