There has been quite an insane amount of speculation and theorizing regarding what happened between Tucker Carlson and Fox News, where he might end up, what will happen to Fox News, and more. It’s been extremely difficult to keep up with the speculation, and that’s an essential part of the job here at RedState. As soon as one theory gets shot down, another crops up. It’s exhausting.
Tucker did make a video appearance on social media last night, confirming that all is well and that Americans need to have a little hope.
Good evening pic.twitter.com/SPrsYKWKCE
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) April 27, 2023
And kudos to him for doing so. There are a lot of things at play here, and his coming to his fans and showing he isn’t going to falter in the face of… well, whatever the hell is going on, is admirable. But it’s the pundit class and the people who get paid to say words (and often seem to get paid more the dumber those words are) who are anything but admirable.
Enter Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson.
Wilson is quoted in The Guardian today saying that Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis had better watch out because Tucker Carlson is a-comin’.
He says: “Tucker is one of the very small number of political celebrities in this country who has the name ID, the personal wealth, the stature to actually declare and run for president and in a Republican primary run in the same track Donald Trump did: the transgressive, bad boy candidate, the one who lets you say what you want to say, think what you want to think, act how you want to act, no matter how grotesque it is.
“Among Republicans, he’s a beloved figure. He’s right now in the Republican universe a martyr – and there ain’t nothing they want more than a martyr.”
[…]
Before Trump launched in 2016, “people used to say, ‘Trump? There’s no way he’ll run. He’s a clown. He’s a reality TV guy. Nobody ever is gonna take that seriously’ … right up until he won the nomination. And then they said, ‘Oh, don’t worry, it can’t be that bad. What could possibly be as bad as you think?’ Well, everything.
“And so I think we live in a world where the most irresponsible thing you can do is look away from the worst-case scenario. I do believe that if Tucker ran for president, there is an argument to be made that he’s the one person who could beat Trump.”
It takes a very special person to say that everyone believed Trump was never going to happen. A lot of people took Trump seriously. But you know who didn’t?
No, you won't. @WashTimes: Donald Trump on possible presidential run: 'I may surprise you' http://t.co/dhR5i5TDgQ pic.twitter.com/z8lvKYRmzD”
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) November 17, 2014
Of course he is RT @NoahShachtman: Trump: I'm ‘thinking about’ a WH run because people love me on Twitter. http://t.co/Tx1RpkPFQA
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) December 2, 2014
So, smack the check, big boy @politico: Donald Trump: It'll cost me "peanuts" to run for president. http://t.co/IyR2YUSzjA
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) June 28, 2015
Sounds like Wilson is projecting his Conventional Wisdom onto the entire American public. He might not have seen the signs plenty of us did, including back in 2011. Small wonder the Lincoln Project has been so unsuccessful in accomplishing literally anything since Wilson and the gang found it.
I think it’s pretty ridiculous for anyone to come out and say that “Tucker Carlson can’t be counted out because everyone counted out Donald Trump!” That’s a lot of projection, especially onto a man who, at one point, hated him “passionately”. Donald Trump’s obsession with running for president was an attempt to extend his own personal brand, influence, and power. That’s not the type of person that Carlson is.
That’s the fundamental problem that people like Wilson have. If you agree with Trump on anything, you have to be exactly like him. It makes it easier to demonize and disregard the merits of what a person says. Based on what we’ve seen about Carlson in front of the camera and the information coming out from behind the camera, it has become clear that Tucker Carlson is someone who believed very much in the message rather than himself as the messenger. That makes him more of a Rush Limbaugh than a Donald Trump, and someone like that isn’t going to debase their values and ideology by compromising anything to run for office – which is something you have to do no matter who you are.
But this does play into the narrative that so many want to put out there. Right now, they believe, the right is in turmoil. Tucker Carlson is off the air and looking for his next gig. Trump is surging and DeSantis is struggling. Congress is in turmoil because of Republican extremists. The seeds of chaos have been sewn, so why not toss out the idea that Carlson could be eyeing a presidential run, no matter how baseless the claim? And you know you have an ally in advancing that narrative with a has-been like Wilson.
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