Maddow Compliments ‘Always Talented’ Tucker Carlson, Despite ‘Dangerous’ Ideas

Theo Wargo/Getty Images for NBC (L)/ Janos Kummer/Getty Images (R)

Rachel Maddow and Tucker Carlson may be on opposite ends of the political spectrum, but Maddow had surprisingly positive things about the Fox News host in a new interview.

Speaking with Vanity Fair‘s John Pompeo about a variety of topics, Maddow recalled working for Carlson on MSNBC’s Tucker in the past and noted he’s “always” been talented and is currently having a major moment in his career.

“Tucker’s doing great right now,” she said. “But look at Tucker’s career. The first show I worked on was his 11 o’clock show on MSNBC that nobody remembers. But he was always kicking around the business and has always been talented. It just — this turned out to be his moment.”

Maddow does admit Carlson has “dangerous” ideas, but she compared Carlson and other Fox News primetime hosts to rival baseball players:

If you think about baseball players, who are extremely competitive and who are fighting to win and who have rivalries, and some of those rivalries are bitter rivalries, that doesn’t mean you don’t study the pitching technique of their star pitcher.

It doesn’t mean you don’t appreciate whatever they’re doing in terms of, you know, where they put their shortstop in order to give them a better defense. There’s a sort of, like, respecting the game, in terms of people who are doing well and people who are good at it.

Maddow also dove into her “professional friendship” with conservative media tycoon Roger Ailes, saying he gave her pointers on how to be a better for the cameras.

“I mean that was the basis of my professional friendship with Roger Ailes,” Maddow said. “I wanted tips from him about how to be better on TV. And he was willing to talk to me about what I was doing well, and doing poorly, to help me get better.”

Carlson and Maddow have thrown critiques at each other, but Carlson has been equally positive about his relationship with Maddow in the past.

Recalling their time working together, Carlson told Extra in 2021 he still likes the very smart Maddow.

“Yeah, many years ago, 15 years ago… I loved her,” Carlson said. “I still like Rachel Maddow. I don’t agree with her on most things, but I always thought that she was smart and above all, she was sincere. And I respect that. I don’t like fraudulence no matter where it comes from, and she is very smart.”