Tucker Carlson floats plan to host alternative GOP debate in post-Fox future

Story by Jeremy Barr, Sarah Ellison, Isaac Stanley-Becker • 6h ago

Tucker Carlson floats plan to host alternative GOP debate in post-Fox future© Janos Kummer/Getty Images

Lesser-known cable channels are itching to build a new brand around him. Industry experts think he could make a mint in podcasting.

But Tucker Carlson — who was fired by Fox News last week at the height of his popularity and influence in right-wing punditry — has aspirations of moving into a larger role that doesn’t limit him to a single medium, according to people familiar with his thinking. And he is willing to walk away from some of the millions that Fox is contractually obligated to pay him, if that would give him the flexibility to have a prominent voice in the 2024 election cycle.

GBDS Duckadoodles Easter Fun Pail – Easter Basket For Child, Beige Over

Ad

Kohl’s

Most ambitiously, Carlson wants to moderate his own GOP candidate forum, outside of the usual strictures of the Republican National Committee debate system. The idea, which he has discussed with Donald Trump, the front-runner for the party nomination, would test his vaunted sway over conservative politics. And it would take a jab at his former employer — Fox is hosting the first official primary debate, which Trump has threatened not to attend — if he can manage to make his grandest plan happen.

Ultimately, Carlson is scrambling to try to avoid the fate of other once-towering former Fox News personalities, who in exile from the network have found lucrative gigs but nothing like their former positions of influence.

0