The Countdown Begins To Ted Cruz's Inevitable Tucker Carlson Presidential Endorsement
2016 all over again
Ted Cruz, the Texas senator and down-low Cancun tourist, spoke last week at an antisemitism symposium hosted by the National Review and Republican Jewish Coalition. Mainstream Republicans (and many Democrats) usually attribute rising antisemitism to liberal college students, Muslims, and anyone not sufficiently supportive of Israel’s right-wing government. This time was a little different. Cruz actually acknowledged growing antisemitism among the right, specifically young conservatives, and he argued that “it is being spread by loud voices, the most consequential of whom is Tucker Carlson,” the former Fox News host, who Cruz called “the single most dangerous demagogue in this country.” (Considering the current White House occupant, Carlson is probably the second most dangerous.)
“I will say, on the right, I have seen more antisemitism in the last 18 months on the right than at any point in my lifetime,” Cruz said. “A year-and-a-half ago, I could not have imagined we would be here having this conversation. And it is growing and it is gaining real purchase especially with young people.”
Cruz added, “I’ve made the decision that I’m going to take [Carlson] on directly.” (Watch below.)
Cruz blasted Carlson for “platforming crackpot professors, seeking to rewrite history about World War II.” Back in 2024, Carlson interviewed faux historian Daryl Cooper, who called Winston Churchill “the chief villain of the second World War.” I’m pretty sure that was Hitler. Cooper doesn’t outright deny the Holocaust but he suggests it was all a big whoopsie because Nazis were overwhelmed and couldn’t adequately care for the Jews they clearly intended to exterminate. Carlson invited Cornell Professor Dave Collum onto his show last year, and Collum absurdly stated, “One can make the argument we should have sided with Hitler and fought Stalin.” Yes, you could if you were a complete idiot. “Patton said that,” Collum went on, “and maybe there wouldn’t have been a Holocaust, right?” No, that is so very wrong.
More than a few liberals have praised Cruz for speaking out against Carlson. However, it’s not as if Carlson’s current rhetoric is anything new. When he was on Fox News, his white supremacist rants defied established bounds of decency that should’ve long ended his career. He spread flat-out lies, pro-Russian propaganda, and repulsive bigotry. He was an early promoter of the racist Great Replacement Theory that has now become the Trump administration’s entire immigration policy.
I will give Cruz credit for not minimizing antisemitism among the online right. At the same event, Republican Sen. Tom Cotton chose instead to deny that uncomfortable reality and dismissed “influencers” on the “right” with mocking air quotes. Cotton said, “I do not agree that I share a political movement or a political party with anyone who traffics antisemitism.” This “ostrich in the sand” approach is how Nick Fuentes probably ends up with a more prominent speaking slot than Cotton at the 2028 Republican National Convention. Cruz at least sees the direction the party is going and understands the risks. The problem is that Cruz might have waited too long.
A few months ago, Cruz appeared on Carlson’s show and walked right into a rhetorical wood chipper. It was humiliating. (Watch below.)
There’s one exchange that almost felt like a classic Daily Show interview: Carlson asked Cruz, “How many people live in Iran, by the way?” Cruz admitted he didn’t know the population off hand. Carlson went in for the kill: “You don’t know the population of the country you seek to topple?”
“I don’t sit around memorizing population tables,” Cruz snapped, but his usual smugness fell flat. Carlson posted this clip on social media, and it soon drew 20 million views and thousands of comments within hours.
What was dangerous about Cruz’s on-air pantsing was that, viewed within a vacuum, Carlson seemed more reasonable than the sitting U.S. senator. Even some liberal pundits fell into the trap of complimenting Carlson’s aggressive interview. After all, Fox News and most mainstream media tend to let Republicans spout their talking points unchallenged. This happened again when Carlson interviewed U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. British liberal Mike Galwsorthy posted a clip of the interview with the glowing caption, “Tucker Carlson *absolutely* nails Mike Huckabee here.” (Watch below.)
Progressive journalist Medhi Hasan shared the same clip, where Carlson asked Huckabee “on what basis does” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “have the right to be here … It’s a big question.” Hasan wrote, “Indeed it is. And astonishing that until Carlson of all people came along, no senior US official echoing the Zionist/Israeli government narrative had ever been asked this question or pressed on this issue.”
Most Americans oppose the current war in Iran — a joint catastrophic venture between the U.S. and Israel. American voters’ support for Israel is also at a historic low. While Democrats — well, aside from John Fetterman — oppose Trump’s misadventures in Iran, both Republicans and Democrats seem immovably resistant to public opinion on Israel. Vice President JD Vance has been MIA since the Iran War started — mostly because it all makes him look like more of a fool than usual. There’s so much footage of Vance denouncing “stupid wars” and now his shameless opportunism and moral cowardice are laid bare. Maybe he’s still the likely frontrunner for the 2028 GOP presidential nomination, but Carlson is possibly a more dangerous threat.
Donald Trump set himself apart from mainstream Republicans in 2016 with his hardline anti-immigration position. He also didn’t hesitate to condemn the Iraq War (with the obvious benefit of hindsight). If Trump’s approval continues to crater, Carlson’s position outside the current GOP mainstream might help him seize control of the party the same way Trump did a decade ago. MAGA is considered a cult of personality, but it’s not entirely filled with opportunists and sycophants who don’t dare question Trump’s madness. There is a sizable contingent that is truly opposed to regime change wars and resents the idea that Israel is leading the U.S. by the nose. This has a disturbing level of support from both the MAGA right and the far left.
Former House Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene suggested that Carlson could run for the presidency and win. She posted on Elon Musk’s Klanbake site, “I SUPPORT TUCKER. Trump doesn’t even know what MAGA is anymore and turned it into MIGA. Trump is not America First, he’s donor first. Tucker would beat Trump if he ran for President and Trump tried to violate the constitution and run again for a third term.”
Carlson has denied any presidential ambitions, and the smart pundits say that he’ll just serve as kingmaker for JD Vance. Of course, the smart pundits said that Trump only ran for president in 2016 for marketing and publicity.
Cruz might’ve declared that he’s “going to take [Carlson] on directly, but no one should seriously believe he could win that battle or that he’d even fight it for long. During the 2016 GOP primary, Cruz denounced Trump with words that remain even more true today. (Watch below.)
“I’m gonna tell you what I really think of Donald Trump,” Cruz said, accompanied by his imaginary running mate Carly Fiorina. “This man is a pathological liar, he doesn’t know the difference between truth and lies, he lies practically every word that comes out of his mouth. And in a pattern that is straight out of a psychology text book, his response is to accuse everyone else of lying … Whatever he does, he accuses everyone else of doing. The man cannot tell the truth but he combines it with being a narcissist. A narcissist at a level I don’t think this country has ever seen … The man is utterly amoral. Morality does not exist for him.”
Trump hasn’t changed since Cruz’s remarks. He’s only gotten worse. Nonetheless, Cruz endorsed Trump and campaigned for him against Hillary Clinton. He supported his democracy-shredding 2020 Big Lie for his own political gain. He endorsed Trump again in 2024 over Nikki Haley, who’s almost normal. Tucker Carlson hasn’t changed, either, but I expect that Cruz will eventually change his position on Carlson. His own opportunism and moral cowardice are inevitable.
All Tuckums has to do is insult his wife and Cancun Cruz will buckle back down.
I love how these people are always a day late and dollar short in calling out the horrors. Like they didn't also ride to power buoyed on the power of bigots.
Cruz’s flip flopping on Trump is as bad as Grahams. Lord help us if we get Carlson. Doesn’t the right have ANY voice of reason? We’re speeding headlong into Idiocracy.