Tucker Carlson is in talks with former President Donald Trump to snub Fox News and host an alternative GOP debate. According to a report in The Washington Post, Tucker’s been speaking with Trump about moderating a forum for 2024 Republican presidential candidates after Trump rebuked Fox.
Tucker is under contract until the end of 2024 so unless he works a deal with Fox News boss Rupert Murdoch he may not be back in the media ecosystem anytime soon. Unless he wants to forfeit millions. But with multiple offers worth more than his Fox contract, he should be fine if he does that.
But while he fights with Rupert, Tucker is readying to get revenge and will help Trump snub Fox News. Trump is refusing to debate on the network because he is not happy with who they want to moderate it.
“If I’m sitting in his seat right now, I’m plotting really my own media company, how I want to build it,” said Joel Cheatwood, a former Fox News executive who helped found the blaze with Glenn Beck.
“Whether you like him or not, there are very few individual brands out there that you can almost guarantee an incredibly significant following from day one.”
According to The Washington Post:
Carlson and his team have discussed the possibility of moderating a candidate forum outside of the traditional protocols surrounding the GOP primary debate system, according to two people familiar with the considerations.
These people said the setup — as well as Carlson’s availability to take on that kind of role, given the noncompete constraints of his contract with Fox — remain unclear.
But Carlson has personally expressed enthusiasm about the idea, according to people familiar with his comments.
At least one major candidate — Trump — has told Carlson he’s interested, according to a person familiar with the exchange.
The former Fox host’s interest in a debate is said to stem in part from its potential to loosen the Republican National Committee’s grip on the process, as well as to challenge the role traditionally played by the major television networks.
“He could go straight to the candidates, stream it live, invite the networks but maintain control over the process,” said one person familiar with the discussions.
