Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who ignites controversy with incendiary comments about race, immigration and LGBTQ rights, among other issues, is taking his show on the road next week for a 16-day cross-country tour that will feature a slate of Donald Trump loyalists and right-wing provocateurs.
Among the guests scheduled to appear on stage with Carlson at various stops are Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, Donald Trump Jr., Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and far-right pundit Glenn Beck.
“We’re going to be talking about real issues with real people,” Carlson said in a June statement announcing the live shows. “You’d better believe the Establishment will be losing their minds.”
Carlson, 55, is hitting the road two months before the presidential election and will visit several key battleground states, like Arizona, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Carlson did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The tour kicks off Wednesday in Phoenix with English comedian Russell Brand, who recently converted to Christianity after facing multiple rape and sexual assault allegations.
In a video posted to his social media accounts last year, Brand denied the allegations and said his relationships had all been consensual.
He said he received “extremely disturbing” communications from a mainstream TV company and a newspaper “listing a litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks.”
“But amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute,” Brand said.
British media reported last year that police in the U.K. had questioned Brand about the allegations but he was not arrested nor charged.
In June, before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, Brand endorsed Trump on Fox News and attended the Republican National Convention in July.
Among the other states Carlson will visit are Florida, Utah, Oklahoma and Texas. His only stop in California will be in Republican-leaning Orange County.
“This is a brave new world,” said Larry Elder, a conservative radio host who ran for California governor and, briefly, for president. “He is unleashed now.”
Elder will join Carlson onstage in Milwaukee, where Republicans recently held their national convention.
Carlson’s roster builds on his recent momentum within the Trump and Make America Great Again camp while fueling speculation of Carlson’s own political ambitions.
His name has been mentioned within GOP circles over several election cycles, although Carlson has never formally announced an intention to run for office.
He was among a handful of insiders who worked behind the scenes to persuade Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to end his independent bid for the White House and endorse the former president, NBC News was first to report.
“It really is just rallying the troops and the diehard former Tea Party people, the MAGA people,” said Reece Peck, an associate professor of media culture at the City University of New York-College of Staten Island.
“They’re giving up on the independent, persuadable voter,” Reece said of Carlson’s lineup, describing his guests as “the stars of the old conservative media world.”
In July, about 15 months after he was fired from Fox News, Carlson returned to the beating heart of the GOP when he addressed Republicans at the national convention.
He took an almost reverential tone when talking about Trump despite once purporting in private texts to hate him.
In his 11-minute address to delegates, Carlson called Trump “a changed man” after an attempted assassination in Pennsylvania and praised the former president’s courage and selflessness.
“This was no longer a man. He was no longer just a political party’s nominee or a former president or a future president. This was the leader of a nation,” Carlson said, describing the event as “divine intervention.”
He also railed against corruption in Washington, called the Biden administration’s ongoing military aid to Ukraine a “middle finger in the face of every American” and said “Trump is the funniest person he’s ever met.”
Carlson was abruptly fired from Fox News in April 2023 after the network agreed to pay nearly $800 million to Dominion Voting Systems to avert a defamation trial related to baseless conspiracies it peddled surrounding the 2020 election.
“Tucker Carlson Tonight” had been a cornerstone of the Fox News lineup since 2016 and was one of the most watched shows on American cable news.
He pushed conspiracy theories and misinformation, including spreading falsehoods about the results of the 2020 presidential election and minimizing the severity of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
After being fired from Fox News, Carlson announced his eponymously named latest venture in December. The Tucker Carlson Network is a mix of news, documentaries and other streaming services. His podcast was ranked No. 2 Friday on Spotify.
In February, Carlson became the first Western-based media figure to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin since his forces invaded Ukraine in 2023.
“It’s important to remember who Tucker Carlson is. He comes from incredible wealth,” said MSNBC commentator Charlie Sykes. “This is not a middle class guy. His motivations are not the same as the person who just lost his job. He wants to be relevant and have a bit of a revenge.”
Carlson’s father, a journalist-turned-ambassador, married an heiress to the Swanson food fortune. Despite his posh upbringing, Carlson’s broad appeal made him a leading voice in the modern conservative movement.
Since his departure from Fox News, Carlson appears to have further stretched his reach through streaming services that helped personalities like Joe Rogan shoot to stardom.
“Here is someone who really knows how to walk in both worlds,” said Christina Bellantoni, professor of journalism at the University of Southern California. “He’s a personality who can make money delivering to crowds. He’s adaptable.”
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