Tucker Carlson took the stage at Turning Point USA’s America Fest in Phoenix on Saturday night, and fielded the question that’s been on the minds of every conservative in the US: Trump or DeSantis? A student asked Carlson who he plans to support in the upcoming GOP primary. Trump has announced his candidacy, seeking a second term in the Oval Office, while DeSantis has only just embarked on his final term as Florida’s beloved governor.
“I said, you know, you go out in public a lot. And you're the most famous people in the world. And I'm sure everyone's nice to you, but some people are probably not nice. How do you feel when people criticize you? And he said, because he's extremely sincere. He said, ‘y’know, when I feel like, I'm somebody, I'm really offended by it. But when I remember, I'm nobody. It's okay.’
“And I thought I need to be more like that. That's exactly right. I mean, let's be honest. Who cares what I think— you know what I mean? Like, I'm not endorsing anybody. I have no idea what's going to happen in the Republican primary.
“I spend a lot of time in Florida. And I think Ron DeSantis has done like an unbelievable job. And I mean that. I don't know DeSantis that well. But let me put it this way. People move to Florida because he's the governor. I've lived in a lot of states. You know, I grew up in California. I've lived in DC, Rhode Island, Arkansas, like I've kind of, you know, I've lived in this country for over 50 years, I know it pretty well. And I've never lived in the state where people just like unbidden at dinner like, ‘yeah, I'm really glad we have our governor’
“I was like ‘what?’ I've never lived a place people knew that governor was. ‘The governor, really? Was he here?’ ‘No, I just love him.’
“But people will literally say that about Ron DeSantis… I’m so impressed by that. I'm so grateful that Donald Trump ran in 2016. Donald Trump completely changed my view of everything.
“Donald Trump is why I left Washington. And he did it in a really simple way by asking questions that no one around him could answer. He showed up said things like, ‘why don't we have a border?’ ‘Shut up racist,’ Carlson said, imitating the people whose brains broke when Donald Trump broke onto the political scene.
“Or my personal favorite. He's like, ‘what's the point of NATO?’” He discussed growing up with good feelings about NATO, that his father worked for the government, but that he began to reconsider that position. Carlson realized that NATO’s policies were hard to defend when it came to upholding the interests of the United States.
Carlson said that “talking to Trump is one of the great joys, one of the great animal joys of life because he exudes this kind of animal joy. And I love that, and I do and the characterizations of Trump is like this force of evil. It's like, no that’s Liz Cheney.
“I think there are plenty of things to criticize about Trump. I mean, he's a human being. But the idea that he's like this personally, some monster, it's like, absurd. It's so it's like, it's just another lie. They always tell the opposite of the truth. Trump is like, totally charming, and engaging, and fun and interesting. And the last thing I'll say about Trump that I really love, is that his insights into people which are always expressed in this, because I use words for living. So I notice that people express things Trump expresses himself in this way that's like completely original, completely original. But his insights into people are like, they're like unbelief.”
Carlson is a long supporter of TPUSA, which is a premiere conference for conservatives to gather in contemporary America, and realize that they are not siloed, but unified in values and vision for the nation.
His answer was an optimistic one, praising both men and adding "I think it'll work out a little better than I know, every person in this room is terrified of some horribly destructive primary, that hobbles the party."
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