Posted on 09/03/2026 1:02:28 PM PDT by Miami Rebel
Vice President Vance defended his relationship with right-wing media personality Tucker Carlson during Thursday’s White House press briefing, saying he won’t allow political disagreements to ruin friendships.
Carlson this past week has said President Trump should be removed from office for “actively considering” preemptive nuclear strikes, while also saying he wouldn’t vote for former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), the GOP candidate in Michigan’s Senate race, “at gunpoint.”
“Everybody knows that Tucker Carlson and I are friends, and I think it’s very obvious that Tucker has said some things that I disagree with,” Vance said when asked Thursday about people who are uneasy about his relationship with the former Fox News host.
“He said some things about the president of the United States that I think are just wrong,” he added.
The vice president also said he disagreed with Carlson’s apparent support of Abdul El-Sayed, Rogers’s Democratic opponent in the Wolverine State.
“I’d like to have a non-crazy person like Mike Rogers representing Michigan in the United States Senate, rather than a crazy person like El-Sayed,” Vance said during the White House press briefing.
However, he went on to say that he tries not to let political disagreements define his friendships.
“Tucker is a friend of mine,” the vice president continued. “Tucker is a friend, despite the fact that we disagree on a number of things. And I’m not going to play the game where I throw friends under the bus because I have political disagreements with them.”
“I think that is a terrible place for the United States to go,” he added.
Carlson described El-Sayed’s campaign as “Trumpian” during a podcast episode released Wednesday.
The right-wing pundit has long been a major booster of Trump but has been increasingly critical of him since the Iran war started early this year. Both Carlson and Vance have promoted an isolationist, anti-war worldview distinct from more traditional Republican hawkishness.
While Vance has not been publicly critical of the war, he has reportedly been the most skeptical member of Trump’s Cabinet throughout the conflict.
Carlson pointed to the president’s threat of the “total destruction” of Iran in his comments calling for his removal.
“The second any president actively considers first-use of nuclear weapons, that person should be removed from office immediately. Immediately, because that’s gotta be the red line, destroying all of humanity with a nuclear strike,” Carlson said.
“Why isn’t there an attempt to remove him from office, like, immediately?” he added.
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More like Dodo bird media personality Tucker Carlson
“The lack of ability to recognize the enemy was the major flaw of the Bush family.”
The Bushes were always the enemy.
I'm a Vance supporter. The concern is justified.
The article describes Tucker as a right winger. Tucker is a foul ball complete nut job and far from a right winger.
As of now for me, Vance is way behind DeSantis and Rubio.
I always thought Vance was another Pence.
We need another fearless non-politican on our side...
Looks like the ticket will be Rubio / DeSantis.
That speaks a lot of JD Vance. I can cross his name off my list of hopeful presidents.
As Tucker becomes more and more nutty, he’ll eventually force Vance to give him the Hasan Piker treatment.
The order should be switched.
I think JD will be fine.
Most people realize that Carlson is in the social media semi-news circle, where you need to drum up viewers by making lots of ever more scandalous and ridiculous statements.
Carlson isn’t in the news business anymore.
He’s an entertainer.
I’m praying for a Rubio/DeSantis or vice versa. I’m done with Vance. He’s a turncoat. He will not continue Trump’s policies. He’ll have Carlson as an insider overtly or covertly...but he willl be there. That would be voting for an antisemite and a too compromised person who started well, but remarkably fueled his own fall.
Same.
We need another fearless non-politican on our side...
Maybe you can write him and Tucker love letters. Do you have the correct address in Qatar in which to send them?
He’s not wrong, but it’s not an easy thing to do.
Can’t be from the same state (well, they can, but not get the state’s electors - that would be giving up 30 electors off the bat).
Yikes. Rubio’s door of opportunity just creaked open a little bit more...
I have liberal friends... and liberal family members. It happens.
Close to the same as Sen. Tom Coburn proclaiming obama his friend.
Vance needs to rethink his standards. He has much to learn.
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