Conservative pundit Tucker Carlson says the Murdoch family empire, which owns Fox News along with The Wall Street Journal and a number of other international media properties, urged him to run for president against President Trump in the 2024 election.
“The Murdochs really hate Trump,” Carlson said during a recent episode of his online commentary and interview show. “I got fired in April of 2023. In May of 2023, they asked me to run for president against Trump and said they would back me.”
Carlson, as he has done before, seemingly scoffed at the idea of a run for president, saying, “I’d never get elected, plus I like Trump.”
The pundit, who has criticized Trump in recent days for his posture toward the Middle East, conceded he was “frustrated” with the president but still holds him in high regard.
Carlson claimed Lachlan Murdoch, the eldest son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, urged the pundit to run against Trump weeks after the network ousted him, and suggested he offered support through Fox, the Journal and other major media properties owned and controlled by the family.
Last week in a newsletter, Carlson accused Trump of being “complicit” in Israel’s strikes against Iran that sparked the current days-long exchange between the two Middle Eastern powers. The newsletter arrived in the inboxes of Carlson’s readers under the headline: “This Could Be the Final Newsletter Before All-Out War.”
Trump responded to Carlson’s criticisms while attending the Group of Seven Summit in Canada.
“Somebody please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that, ‘IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!’” Trump posted on Truth Social
Carlson launched his own media company following his ouster from Fox News. Since its launch in 2023, Carlson has used his newsletter as a perch to interview and criticise top lawmakers and newsmakers, including the president.
