Famous conservative Fox News host, Tucker Carlson, could be the top choice for Republican presidential nominee in 2024, if he decides to run for office, Politico reported, citing accounts of numerous GOP strategists, former campaigners, and Trump administration officials.
The media outlet says that Republicans increasingly see Carlson as the main proponent of so-called "Trumpism", an approach to running the US introduced by the current president. The Fox anchor even criticises POTUS and his closest allies, when he sees them abandoning their self-established tenants. His comments have attracted a never-before-seen surge in viewers over the past month, even as he ended up in the middle of a scandal over him denying the existence of racism in the US, calling Black Lives Matter a "political party" that is not allowed to be criticised in public and slamming Republicans, who sided with the movement.
"He’s a talented communicator with a massive platform. I think if he runs he’d be formidable", Republican strategist Luke Thompson told Politico.
The media outlet stated that "sixteen prominent Republicans" said there is "an emerging consensus" in the party that Carlson could be a "formidable" pick for the 2024 nominee. This support didn't wane even as the Fox host openly attacked some major GOP faces, such as former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, Senators Ron Johnson and James Lankford, and even Trump's son-in-law and author of the "deal of the century", Jared Kushner.
A former political aide to Trump's campaign and a person, who claims to know Carlson personally, Sam Nunberg, told Politico that even if Trump loses his re-election bid and the Fox anchor decides to run in the next electoral cycle on a Trumpist platform, he’d be the nominee. There is only one problem, which Nunberg pointed out, that Carlson is "disgusted with politicians" and is unlikely to run. Several other contributors also shared with the media outlet their skepticism about Tucker Carlson agreeing to run for president.
The host himself, as well as Fox News declined to comment on such prospects for Politico.
Nunberg told the media outlet that another top aide to Trump's campaign, veteran political consultant Roger Stone, tried to recruit Carlson in 2012 to run on the Libertarian ticket, but the host turned to idea down. Stone has neither confirmed nor denied having had such a conversation with Carlson.