Tucker Carlson Reportedly in Talks With Trump to Host GOP Forum as Trump Plans to Snub Fox News
AP Photo/Seth Wenig
Tucker Carlson is wasting no time getting back into the arena after his unceremonious firing from Fox News. According to a new Washington Post report, he’s been speaking with former President Donald Trump about moderating a forum for 2024 Republican presidential candidates.
The Washington Post reported Thursday on Carlson’s next steps since he was ousted from Fox (the list of potential reasons he was fired is comically long, so we won’t get into that here). The Post notes that Carlson’s Fox contract was supposed to run until the end of 2024, so his options for establishing a new media presence could be limited if he wants to collect on the millions the network is still legally obligated to pay him.
However, sources told the Post that Carlson might be willing to forfeit millions if it means he’ll get to publicly re-establish himself faster.
Carlson has reportedly spoken with Trump because one of his biggest ideas is to moderate his own Republican primary debate outside the bounds put in place by the Republican National Committee.
From the report:
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.
The former Fox host’s interest in a debate is said to stem in part from its potential to loosen the Republican National Committee’s grip on the process, as well as to challenge the role traditionally played by the major television networks. “He could go straight to the candidates, stream it live, invite the networks but maintain control over the process,” said one person familiar with the discussions.
The story follows reporting that Trump might refuse to appear at one of the GOP’s primary debates because he’s angered by the idea of being questioned by Fox News anchor Bret Baier. There is also the related detail that Trump is about to join CNN for a town hall event, his first appearance on the network after years of trashing the outlet over their critical coverage on him.
Trump’s ire with Baier reportedly stems from the anchor’s coverage on the ex-president’s 2020 election lies. Fox News just paid Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million to settle their defamation lawsuit against the network for amplifying conspiracy theories, yet in the weeks before his firing, Carlson continued pushing Trump’s claim that the election was corrupted and rigged against him.
All of this after Carlson privately called Trump a “destroyer” and a “demonic force” after his supporters violently attacked the U.S. Capitol in hopes of overthrowing his election defeat. “I hate him passionately,” Carlson said in one text about Trump.
Trump has ignored these revelations, saying it was a “shame” when Carlson got pushed out because “he was telling the truth.”
The Post’s report continues by delving into Carlson’s deliberations about whether to make a podcast or show, or try establishing a new brand bigger than that. One America News Network and Newsmax were reported among the interested parties hoping to hire Carlson.
