Tucker Carlson‘s break with President Donald Trump — whom the ex-Fox News host once robustly supported — took a stunning turn, as Carlson apologized for campaigning for Trump and said he was sorry for “misleading people” about Trump.
Carlson made the comments on Monday’s episode of his podcast, “The Tucker Carlson Show,” speaking with his brother Buckley Carlson, a former Trump speechwriter.
“You wrote speeches for him, I campaigned for him. I mean, we’re implicated in this, for sure,” Carlson said on the podcast. “It’s not enough to say, ‘Well, I changed my mind,’ or, like, ‘Oh, this is bad, I’m out.’”
“It’s, like, in very small ways, but in real ways, you and me and millions of people like us are the reason this is happening right now,” Tucker Carlson said. “So I do think it’s like a moment to wrestle with our own consciences. You know, we’ll be tormented by it for a long time. I will be, and I want to say I’m sorry for misleading people, and it was not intentional.”
About Trump, Tucker Carlson said at another point, “clearly there were signs of low character. We knew that.” But, he said, “There are tons of people of low character who, like, outperform their character. It doesn’t have to be sort of the norm actually these days. I say I’ve outperformed my character a lot. I don’t have especially high character, right? But you know, you try to, whatever, you try your best.”
Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Carlson — and other right-wing influencers — in recent months who have become disenchanted with the president. Tucker Carlson has grown increasingly critical of the Trump White House, including the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and the president’s war against Iran.
Two weeks ago, in a social media post, Trump lashed out at Carlson and high-profile conservative influencers Megyn Kelly, Alex Jones and Candace Owens, calling them “stupid people,” “NUT JOBS” and “TROUBLEMAKERS” who “will say anything necessary for some ‘free’ and cheap publicity.” He called Carlson a “Hand Flailing Fool” who “couldn’t even finish College, he was a broken man when he got fired from Fox, and he’s never been the same — Perhaps he should see a good psychiatrist!”
Carlson told Newsmax earlier this month, “I’ve always liked Trump and still feel sorry for him, as I do for all slaves. He’s hemmed in by other forces. He can’t make his own decisions. It’s awful to watch.”
Last week, Carlson’s son Buckley Carlson (who has the same name as his uncle) exited his job as VP JD Vance’s deputy press secretary.
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