Tucker Carlson, the well-known conservative media personality, publicly professed his support for Donald Trump, the former president whom he once vociferously criticized via text. "I became an active Trump supporter when they raided Mar-a-Lago last summer. That just can't stand," Carlson voiced during a conversation last Thursday with Roseanne Barr on her podcast, a notorious platform not unfamiliar with contentious topics. He asserted, "I'm voting for Trump, and if they convict him, I will send him the maximum donations and I will lead protests. That's how I feel."
Carlson revealed to Barr that he has unfailingly concurred with Trump's policies, even to the point of severing ties with friends. During Trump's term, where Carlson enjoyed prime time attention at Fox News, the pair seemed to share an amicable rapport. However, Carlson's previously unseen text messages conveyed a diverging sentiment.
In a text message dated Jan 4, 2021, Carlson wrote to an anonymous recipient, "We are very, very close to the ability to gloss over Trump most nights. I truly can't wait,” adding, "I despise him intensely… I can't handle much more of this."
These messages surfaced during the defamation lawsuit Dominion Voting Systems launched against Fox News, where Carlson once served as a prime-time anchor. The company accused Fox, along with notorious personalities like Carlson, of spreading unfounded allegations that Dominion manipulated the 2020 elections against Trump. Consequently, Fox reached a settlement that cost a whopping $787.5 million, with Carlson removed from the lineup mere days after.
Lawmakers, including Democrats and a few Republicans, have faulted Carlson for watering down the severity of the Jan. 6, Capitol storming when pro-Trump factions attempted to halt the electoral vote count to maintain Trump's influence.
Meanwhile, Trump, a potential contender for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, has refrained from participating in any debates, instead opting for a pre-recorded interview with Carlson. This interview appeared on X, the former Twitter platform, minutes before Fox News aired its first debate.
According to Carlson, the initiative for the interview came from Trump, despite the public knowledge of his initial animosity towards him. "Whatever you think of Trump," Carlson noted in August, "he is, as of tonight, the indisputable, far-and-away frontrunner in the Republican race."
