OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former Fox News star and current new media entrepreneur Tucker Carlson has finally responded to rumors that former President Donald Trump is considering him to be his 2024 running mate.
The response comes after Axios reported last week that former First Lady Melania Trump was lobbying her husband to choose Carlson, and Trump indicated on the “Clay Travis and Buck Sexton” show that he would be open to the idea.
“Here’s an interesting twist: Melania Trump is an advocate for picking Tucker Carlson, the booted Fox News star. She thinks Carlson would make a powerful onstage extension of her husband, a source close to Trump told us. The former first lady has made few campaign appearances this time around, but a Trump-Carlson ticket might encourage her to hit the trail,” Axios reported.
Axios added, “However, many people close to Trump have dismissed the idea of Tucker Carlson because they believe he would never choose someone who could surpass him. And Trump’s staff is convinced (correctly) that Carlson can’t be controlled. But the two men talk a lot.”
“I like Tucker a lot; I guess I would,” Trump told Travis and Sexton. “I think I’d say I would because he’s got great common sense. You know, when they say that you guys are conservative, or I’m conservative — it’s not that we’re conservative; we have common sense. We want to have safe borders. We want to have a wall because walls work.”
But it appears that Carlson isn’t really on board.
“Well, it’s just– it’s just so unimaginable,” Carlson told SiriusXM and former Fox News host Megyn Kelly on Monday. “I mean, I haven’t led a life that prepares a person for politics. As I said, I don’t think I have any like horrible skeletons or anything. It’s not that, it’s just that that’s not how my brain works. I’ve never done anything like that. I can’t imagine spending time with politicians.”
He continued: “I’m a total sucker for Trump. I think he’s – you know, personally, I get along with Trump really well. The closer I am physically to Trump, like if I’m with him in the room, I always love Trump and I think it’s impossible not to, and you know the experience. He’s just charming.”
“Yeah,” replied Kelly.
“And he’s funny as hell, and he’s brave in his way, I think. So I really appreciate that, and I agree fundamentally with his views,” Carlson continued. “You know, maybe fewer wars, maybe have a border, like those are not crazy things and I support them, and I’m appalled and terrified by the use of the DOJ to rig an election, which is what’s happening now, so all those factors make me kind of psyched to vote for Trump.
“But serving in politics with anybody, I mean, that’s just– that’s a– it’s a lot for me to think about because I just don’t think I’m really suited for that. Would anyone want to see a guy like me run for office?” Carlson asked.
“Yes!” Kelly exclaimed, before concluding, “You’re not gonna end your life without having been probably president, maybe vice president.”
WATCH:
Carlson, during an event in November, made a startling prediction about the 2024 election, telling an audience that he doesn’t believe President Joe Biden and Trump will face off against each other again.
By referring to Biden as “senile,” Carlson claimed he wasn’t being cruel, but it was “just true.” He went on to say that while Trump is dealing with 90 or more charges stemming from four separate indictments, Biden is losing ground to Trump in the polls.
“Take the opponent out of the race, and they’re still losing,” he noted. “So, I mean, I don’t know what’s going to happen. This is not going to be a race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. I would bet my beloved fishing camp in Maine that that is not going to happen. That’s not going to happen.”
