With primary season just around the corner, there is plenty of speculation about who may be contenders for vice president – especially if former President Donald Trump secures the Republican nomination.
One name that is apparently on the shortlist according to media reports? Tucker Carlson.
On Monday’s show, Carlson joined Megyn to discuss his new Tucker Carlson Network and give his thoughts on the 2024 election and whether or not he’d ever consider running for office.
Vice President Tucker Carlson?!
During an appearance on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show last month, Trump was asked if he would consider Carlson as a potential running mate. “I like Tucker a lot; I guess I would,” the former president said. “I think I’d say I would because he has great common sense.”
According to an Axios report, the 2024 GOP frontrunner is considering Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), Kari Lake, and, yes, Carlson for VP. The outlet even claims former First Lady Melania Trump favors the former Fox News host.
So, how does Carlson feel about the chatter? “It’s just so unimaginable,” he said. “I haven’t led a life that prepares a person for politics… It’s just that’s not how my brain works. I’ve never done anything like that.” Another issue? “I can’t imagine spending time with politicians,” he added.
As Carlson explained, he agrees “fundamentally” with Trump’s views on key issues. “Maybe fewer wars, maybe have a border – those are not crazy things, and I support them all,” he said. “And I am appalled and terrified by the use of the [Department of Justice] to rig an election, which is what’s happening now.”
But that doesn’t mean he is ready to be second in command. “All those factors make me kind of psyched to vote for Trump, but serving in politics with anybody? That’s just a lot for me to think about,” he shared. “I just don’t think I am really suited for that. I mean, would anyone want to see a guy like me run for office? Not really actually.”
Megyn begged to differ. “If you were out on that debate stage last week as one of the candidates, it would be so fun because you really would be just saying what’s real,” she noted. “There’d be no massaging of the message… It’s just so rare and, when someone is as authentic as you are, the people know.”
Playing Politics
To that point, Carlson said he’s known and spent time with “everyone who’s run for president pretty much in the last 30 years,” and it never ceases to amaze him how politics changes people. “You always think, ‘Wow, this person is just going to be completely honest and say what he really thinks and… just tell the truth,” he said. “And then you see them subverted… because they’re getting leaned on or blackmailed, which is real… I have seen it.”
Carlson said he finds that world “repugnant” and can’t imagine giving up his current life for it. “I live very, very happily – my wife and I and our many, many dogs and our many, many children,” he shared. “So, I don’t really like the idea of disrupting that.”
Ever persistent, Megyn still saw an opening. “So, it’s a no for now,” she quipped. “You can’t envision it, but the door is not totally shut.”
Carlson would never say never. “Who knows what happens in the coming year,” he said. “I think we’re in for real volatility.” But he can’t picture a scenario in which him holding elected office is the solution. “I don’t imagine that I’m some superhero,” he explained. “I’m really grateful for what I have, but I don’t think America needs me and I don’t want to become an egomaniac or solipsistic – and that’s what you become when you start thinking that way.”
In Megyn’s view, that’s why he is needed. “This is exactly why you need to run because everybody who does run tends to be narcissistic and you’re not,” she concluded. “You’re not going to end your life without having been probably president, maybe vice president. I just didn’t think you will.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Carlson by tuning in to episode 683 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.