- In late-night texts, Tucker Carlson told Insider he was about to launch a 2024 bid before saying it was a joke.
- The exchange occurred hours after Carlson released a video to Twitter castigating the media.
- "Totally kidding," Carlson texted to Insider. "Sorry. I can never control myself."
When I asked Tucker Carlson in a text on Tuesday evening if he was planning a run for president, the newly self-employed white nationalist had a shocking answer: "Yes. Announcing Friday in New Hampshire."
But my earth-shaking scoop was short-lived. After I credulously asked him to confirm that he was serious before I blasted out the news, which would re-shape the 2024 presidential race, the former Fox News broadcaster confirmed what millions of Americans have already concluded: He's just an asshole.
"Totally kidding," Carlson wrote. "Sorry. I can never control myself. I'm fundamentally a dick. My apologies."
Carlson's rash messages come as the incendiary monologist attempts to rebrand himself as a full-time Twitter personality after 14 years on Fox News, which fired him earlier this month. Carlson's show became a kind of ideological North Star for the embittered and racialized nationalism that propelled Donald Trump into the White House, and then incubated the Trump movement's conspiracy theories and insatiable sense of outrage in the wake of his 2020 election loss.
On Fox, Carlson stoked hatred of undocumented immigrants, glossed over the violence of the January 6 insurrection, and criticized US support for Ukraine. His fans are 63 percent male and 66 percent white, according to a survey by Morning Consult. Before he was fired — for reported reasons that range from a racist text message to allegations of misogyny and bullying — he was earning roughly $25 million a year. By moving his show to Twitter, Carlson reportedly stands to lose millions in severance for breaking a non-compete clause in his contract.
My question about Carlson's possible presidential ambitions was not as far-fetched as it might sound. Speculation about a possible GOP primary run has followed Carlson for years. One poll found that 59 percent of Americans have a favorable view of Carlson, higher than Fox News. And despite airing private misgivings about Trump, Carlson has already been wielding power from behind the scenes in ways that further blur the line between his roles as commentator and political heavyweight. Text messages show that he helped negotiate the standoff between Republican moderates and the far-right holdouts that elevated Rep. Kevin McCarthy to speaker on the 15th vote.
Carlson's reasons for deciding to engage directly with the "news media" hours after lambasting them in a Twitter monologue for, in his view, "misleading" the public, remains unclear; the media Carlson has belonged to for decades is one of his favorite punchbags, despite being one of its best sources.
After Carlson revised his initial claim that he'd be announcing a presidential run in New Hampshire on Friday, Insider asked whether he'd ruled out a 2024 run for the White House.
Carlson did not reply.