Tucker Carlson is the Next Republican President
While not a conventional politician, Tucker Carlson will be the dark horse of the upcoming 2028 Republican Primary Elections, where they will choose their candidate for the subsequent Presidential Election.
Much like Trump in 2016, Carlson, being a political outsider and seemingly independent thinker, is what could propel his success. He has placed himself on the right side of all the current issues that are galvanizing Americans, and as a result, he has captured the heart and soul of the America First movement, which is desperately looking for a way off the Trump Train.
Tucker’s brand of anti-establishment populism is exactly what a lot of MAGA voters believed Trump would be. Instead of draining the swamp, he filled it with his own people. Carlson could at one time have been considered a part of the establishment himself when he was the leading commentator on FOX News and repeated the Trump party line on each of his shows.
This ended in April 2023; however, FOX News settled its defamation lawsuit to Dominion Voting Systems and had to pay nearly $800 million. Simultaneously, Carlson was cast to the side. Since then, however, he has gained an even larger and younger audience on his independent broadcast, which has now passed even his old employer, FOX, in notoriety.
The Iran War and Trump’s Falling Support
One of the issues where Trump and Carlson have recently diverged is the Iran war, which began on February 28, 2026, when Israel and the United States bombed Iran. The war has become incredibly unpopular with the American people, sinking Trump’s ratings as a result, and raising Carlson’s.
Before the start of the war, gasoline cost on average, $2.98 per gallon. In just a month’s time, by April 1st, this rose to nearly $4.06 per gallon. The only April Fools are the American people who voted for “no new wars” and instead got just the opposite, and the cost is coming directly out of their pockets.
The war effort itself has also been largely ineffectual, with Iran continuing to show their military capabilities, putting US forces and the surrounding Gulf States under constant potential threat. It has also cost roughly 1 billion dollars a day in defense spending, which eventually comes back to the American taxpayers.
Actions like these have caused many of the more populist players in the MAGA movement, such as Carlson himself, another former FOX host Megyn Kelley, former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, and commentator Candace Owens, to jump ship.
Even a far-right commentator, Alex Jones, was suggesting using the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office, while self-proclaimed white nationalist, Nick Fuentes, was so fed up that he told his supporters to vote democrat in the upcoming 2026 primaries.
As I began writing this, on April 7, 2026, President Trump threatened to commit war crimes against the Iranian people, causing backlash among these conservative voices. He wrote on his platform, Truth Social:
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,”
One day before, he expressed a similar sentiment, stating that he would target Iranian civilian infrastructure, including bridges and power plants.
When I opened Twitter this morning, I had expected these to be the top trending results; instead, I found something different…
Instead of Trump’s original statement, it was actually Carlson’s reply that went viral. He suggested that the US Military and its members should disobey illegal orders, even coming from Trump himself.
Horseshoe Theory and Israel’s Genocide
Additionally, Carlson aligned himself correctly against Israel. A nation that has blatantly fueled corruption in our country, committed war crimes on our dime, and now dragged us into war. Since it began its bombing of Gaza in 2023, Israel has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, 5,000 Lebanese, and 6,000 Iranians, including a large number of civilian casualties in each location.
The American People have had enough and Tucker captured this sentiment stating:
“The U.S. government should send not one more dollar to Israel and not one more piece of military materiel to Israel. Not one more fighter jet or bomb or missile defense system or small arm or ammunition of any kind.”
His consistent criticisms of Israel and recent challenges against the Trump administration have recently been gaining Carlson some attention, and even some hesitant support among the left.
Horseshoe theory says that when you go far enough to the left or far enough to the right, you get back to the same views and policies. This is true in the case of the Israeli-Palestine conflict, and it is also what Carlson needs to strike on if he hopes to be elected.
The Times of Israel even highlights how Carlson has adopted left-wing anti-Zionist talking points, bringing Horseshoe theory to life. They report that he invited several left-wing commentators onto his show to boost this momentum.
Identifying the Competition in the GOP
While Carlson has a clear path to victory, it wont be an easy one, he will be entering a loaded 2028 primary against the leading conservative voices, his top competitors will include:
Vice President J.D. Vance – As the incumbent vice president Vance will be the favorite going into this cycle. A likely Trump endorsement and the backing of billionaire donors like Peter Thiel, will make Vance a difficult candidate to beat. However, what he has is in powerful allies, he lacks in charisma. Vance is not Trump and he will never be able to command the Maga movement in the same way he did.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio – Rubio is another promising candidate who has a quite impressive resume both prior to working for Trump, and now as the secretary of state. He played major roles in recent US foreign policy decisions such as the capture of Nicolas Maduro and the bombing of Iran. While he is a strong contender, he is at his core a neo-conservative and member of the establishment class, he won’t be able to capture the populist support Trump relied on. The fact that he is latino also wont help his cause.
Congressmen Thomas Massie- If I was a republican, Massie would be my choice for the president. Like Carlson, Massie has proven through his work to expose the Epstein files and his refusal to stand down to Israeli donors that he is both principled and populist, something this country desperately needs. However, unlike Carlson, Massie doesn’t share the same disdain for the democrats or for the establishment that it would take to win as a republican president.
As someone leaning left politically, I have no reason to be biased in favor of Carlson. In fact, I hope he loses, I believe his lies during his time on FOX News are part of what destroyed this once great nation and got us where we are today.
But as a journalist, I must approach the situation honestly. Among the other candidates, Tucker Carlson is the most electable president, and will define the future of the Republican Party.
