Fox News star Tucker Carlson’s ambitions for the 2024 Republican presidential candidacy have been speculated on for months.
While his initial support isn’t huge, it’s still noticeably stronger than other would-be Republican candidates.
A straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) 2021 in February had Carlson polling above former Vice President Mike Pence and Texas Gov. Mike Abbott.
Speculation has gained traction over the popularity of his Fox News show, “Tucker Carlson Tonight” and Carlson’s ability to effectively talk to conservative voters.
“He’s a talented communicator with a massive platform. I think if he runs he’d be formidable,” Luke Thompson, a Republican strategist, told Politico in July of last year.
“Let me put it this way: If Biden wins and Tucker decided to run, he’d be the nominee,” Sam Nunberg, a former aide in the Trump administration, told the magazine during the 2020 election.
Carlson addressed the rumors directly on Friday: No thanks.
He doesn’t want the job.
“Oh God, come on! Yeah. I’ll be running,” Carlson sarcastically told the conservative podcast “Ruthless.”
Carlson said the job would be too much for him and his family, and he has no desire to run for office.
“That seems like a fun job. I’m sure my poor children would love that,” he said. “Can you imagine?”
“I’ve known and talked to every president … for like more than 30 years,” Carlson continued. “And you know, I can’t think of anyone whose life was improved by that.”
“I mean, I guess if I was the last person on Earth, I could do it,” he concluded. “But, I mean, it seems pretty unlikely that I would be that guy.”
This isn’t the first time Carlson has rejected calls from fans to run for office. In 2019, he told the National Conservatism Conference that it would be “insane” for him to run for president and he would never do so.
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