Tucker Carlson Considering Plan to Host 2024 GOP Debate Forum: Report
Tucker Carlson Considering Plan to Host 2024 GOP Debate Forum: Report
Tucker Carlson, a former top-rated Fox News personality, is thinking of making a move that would give him the chance to exercise his immense media muscle in an unprecedented way, likely upending the GOP presidential nomination process.
“Carlson … has aspirations of moving into a larger role that doesn’t limit him to a single medium, according to people familiar with his thinking. And he is willing to walk away from some of the millions that Fox is contractually obligated to pay him if that would give him the flexibility to have a prominent voice in the 2024 election cycle,” the Washington Post reported Thursday.
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The Post said that Carlson’s ambitious ambition is to host his own GOP candidate forum, which would be independent of the RNC debate system. He is also said to have discussed the concept with Donald Trump, who is currently leading the party’s nomination race.
Given that Fox is holding the first official primary debate, which Trump has promised to skip, the idea would undoubtedly be a test of his dominance over conservative politics as well as a challenge to his former company, according to The Post.
The Post also stated that Carlson is making a concerted effort to avoid the fate of other former Fox News stars who, after leaving the network, found successful careers but not nearly as much impact as they formerly did.
“If I’m sitting in his seat right now, I’m plotting really my own media company, how I want to build it,” Joel Cheatwood, a former Fox News and CNN executive who helped found theblaze.com with Glenn Beck after he was forced out from Fox News in 2011 told the Post. “Whether you like him or not, there are very few individual brands out there that you can almost guarantee an incredibly significant following from day one.”
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It is believed that Carlson’s current deal with Fox News will expire at the end of 2024, which may put a temporary cap on his possibilities. The Post stated that Carlson’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, did not reply to a request for comment. Nevertheless, sources close to Carlson indicate that he might be prepared to accept less money than he is owed in order to return to the media game sooner.
According to reports, a number of lesser cable news networks, including One America News, Newsmax, and Valuetainment, have expressed interest in hiring the former Fox News star.
Carlson has “the greatest and most enthusiastic viewership in television news,” according to Robert Herring Sr., president and CEO of OANN. Herring continued by saying that his firm has “made our interest plain.”
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The Post noted further:
A stronger pitch has come from Newsmax, the conservative media company that has seen prime-time ratings surge this past week at the same time Fox was losing viewers from Carlson’s old time slot.
Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy approached Carlson and his associates with a wide-ranging proposal that, in the words of one person familiar with the pitch, would involve “rebranding Newsmax under Tucker’s name.” Carlson and his advisers are intrigued by the idea of his own media company, and taking over an existing one would be easier than building from the ground up — through any possible deal would boil down to unresolved questions of money and editorial control.
Patrick Bet-David, CEO of Valuetainment, has made an offer to Carlson for $100 million over five years in exchange for full editorial control over the network, which primarily streams content and has a sizable following on websites like YouTube.
Cheatwood hypothesized that Carlson would actually damage himself and his own brand if he signed with a much smaller network. He told the Newspaper, “I just don’t think he needs it.” He simply outweighs them in size.
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Ken LaCorte, a former Fox News Digital executive, continued, “He could do very well and attract an audience quickly, and he could earn a decent life and never have to leave his home studio.”
According to insiders cited by The Post, Carlson wants to host live events as well as make films. He also wants to be a podcaster.
You see what he’s doing here, right? He’s planning a unique kind of show where he tackles significant subjects.