Tucker Carlson portrays Donald Trump, of all people, as trying to “Return Democracy to America”
On stage at the Republican National Convention Thursday night, Tucker Carlson call Donald Trump “the funniest person I have ever met in my life,” and propose that “Trump’s entire project” is “to return democracy to America.”
“I think the whole purpose, from that famous escalator ride nine years ago to today, of Donald Trump’s public life, is to remind us of one truth,” Carlson said in what he described as an impromptu speech, “which is, a leader’s duty is to the people, to the country, and not to anyone else.”
“And another word for this,” he continued, “is democracy.”
Carlson’s ideas on how US leaders should think about and practice democracy were laid out in his 11-minute speech on Thursday.
Carlson’s appearance came more than a year later. unexpectedly eliminated from Fox News, where he hosted Tucker Carlson Tonightwas once the highest-rated show on cable news. In the time since Carlson was fired, he has launched a show, Tucker on Twitterand runs the Tucker Carlson Network, a streaming service that he describe as a response to “Western news coverage,” which he claimed “has become an instrument of repression and control.”
Since leaving Fox News, Carlson has significantly grown his international influence. affect in places like Hungary And Russiainterview their leaders, Viktor Orban And Vladimir Putinrespectively, last year.
Carlson has also proven to have deep influence among Republicans in the 2024 election. He is first person to greet Trump as he performs enntrance gate at the RNC on Monday night, just days after the former president survived a Assassination attempt failed in his politics rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump “firmly shook Carlson’s hand and placed his left arm on the former TV host’s shoulder. Carlson nodded, leaned in and smiled,” Washington Post reported.
The past few weeks alone have demonstrated Carlson’s deep ties to Trump’s inner circle—including the host’s influence over his vice presidential pick. Carlson is said to be a key figure in decision to elect Ohio Senator JD VanceWho officially accepted nominee in his speech at the RNC on Wednesday night. “When Tucker Carlson heard a few weeks ago that Mr. Trump might be hesitant about Mr. Vance,” New York Times reported“He intervened.” Carlson called Trump, telling him that the senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota, two of Trump’s leading vice presidential candidates at the time, could not be trusted. If Trump chose a neoconservative running mate, Carlson reportedly warned, “then the U.S. intelligence agencies would have every incentive to assassinate Trump to get the president they prefer.”
However, over the years, the relationship between Carlson and Trump has become complicated.
“We’re very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I really can’t wait,” Carlson speak on January 4, 2021, according to text messages discovered in Dominion defamation lawsuit against Fox News. He private mockery Trump and his team false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him and even texted Trump, “I hate him with a passion.” But in public, the commentator sang a different tune; he said January 6 was “probably second only to the 2020 election as the biggest scam of my lifetime,” adding that Democrats “go into a complete panic when confronted with any truth that differs from their lies.”
In one interview Thursday morning with timeCarlson responded to his previous negative comments about the former president. “I’m angry at Trump. So what? I’m angry at my wife,” he said. “I’m human.”
