MAGA Throws Its Weight Behind Tucker Carlson for VP

A growing group of Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporters have given their approval on social media after Donald Trump said he'd consider making former Fox News host Tucker Carlson his vice presidential running mate in 2024.

Carlson, once among the network's biggest stars and ratings draws, was abruptly let go from Fox News in late April for reasons that still remain unclear. The company itself declined to give specific reasons for the decision, with reports later suggesting that racially charged text messages uncovered during Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit against the network may have spooked the board into parting ways. However, Carlson has since taken to X, formerly Twitter, to continue his political commentary often speaking on major political issues.

Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, said Wednesday that he'd consider Carlson as his running mate if he becomes the GOP's 2024 nominee.

"I like Tucker a lot, I guess I would," the former president responded to conservative radio host Clay Travis' question about the topic on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. "I think I'd say I would because he's got great common sense."

Newsweek has reached out to Carlson and Trump via email for further comment.

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk took to X on Friday to state his support about the prospect, adding that Carlson is the only one who is similar to Trump and can thrive under pressure.

"No other VP contender is as battle-tested as Tucker. Like Trump, he thrives under attack and under pressure...Tucker is the only Republican who can even begin to imitate Trump's rhetorical style. They're the only two men who can keep an audience transfixed speaking for an hour without a single note," he wrote on X.

In response to Kirk's remarks, Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia wrote on X, "I agree with you Charlie. There's no one better than Tucker Carlson!!"

While conservative political commentary host Rogan O'Handley made a list on X of who he sees in top positions in 2024, naming Trump as president and Carlson as vice president.

In addition, while speaking with Kirk on The Charlie Kirk Show, conservative political commentator Benny Johnson said on Friday, "Yeah, totally, 100 percent" when asked if Carlson for vice president was a good idea.

However, others on social media said Carlson would not be a good choice for the position.

"No ,we need Tucker to stay objective and outside of this and keep doing the valuable work he is doing," X user Eric Hoglund wrote on X.

While user MTrucksa believes Carlson is better suited for a public speaker position and wrote, "Tucker might be more interested in being a public speaker like he is now. If they could make that a part of him being VP, it would work. but no, i think Tucker would not enjoy being a VP. Trump needs to put him in his cabinet somewhere."

This comes after Carlson criticized newly-elected House Speaker Mike Johnson earlier this month over his support for giving aid to Israel in its ongoing war with Hamas. Last week, the House passed a proposal by Johnson that pairs $14.3 billion in emergency funding for Israel with $14.3 billion in cuts to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Hamas' October 7 surprise attack was the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest-ever airstrikes on Gaza. According to Israeli officials, 1,200 people in Israel have been killed as of Saturday the Associated Press reported, while over 11,070 Palestinians have been killed, according to officials from the health ministry in Gaza, the AP said.

Referring to the ongoing war between the two, Carlson said, "[If] you think the welfare of another country is the most important thing for you as one of the leaders of our country, third in line to the presidency, you have lost the thread, son."

Update, 11/11/2023 at 3:59 p.m. ET: The Israeli death toll from October 7 was changed to reflect the new lower number that Israeli officials have reported.