U.S. News: Vance Defends His Carlson Friendship

 

“WASHINGTON -- Vice President JD Vance defended his friendship with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, rejecting pressure from some Republicans to distance himself from the conservative iconoclast.

 

"Tucker is a friend, despite the fact that we disagree on a number of things," Vance told reporters Thursday at the White House. "And I'm not going to play the game where I throw friends under the bus because I have political disagreements with them."

 

Carlson didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

Carlson, a longtime ally of President Trump, has become one of the president's sharpest critics, breaking with him over the Iran war and accusing him of abandoning his "America First" campaign platform.

 

Carlson has alleged that some American politicians place the interests of Israel over those of the U.S. He hosted a Holocaust denier, Nick Fuentes, on his podcast last October, triggering allegations of antisemitism and demands from some prominent Republicans to banish Carlson from the conservative movement.

 

Some Jewish Republicans, along with other conservatives, have publicly and privately expressed frustration that Vance hasn't publicly broken with Carlson.

 

On Thursday, Vance said he disagreed with Carlson on many things, including his criticism of Trump and his recent positive comments about Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.

 

"I think El-Sayed's a crazy person," Vance said in response to Carlson, who made the case in a recent podcast that El-Sayed was promoting a "Trumpian" American First agenda.

 

The vice president said he was frustrated when friends of his wife, Usha Vance, publicly turned on her as the couple entered the public eye. "And I remember thinking to myself, 'What a travesty it is that in the United States of America, we let political disagreements define who our friends are going to be and not going to be,'" Vance said.

 

It is the second time in a week that Vance has declined to publicly turn his back on Carlson. During an event on Monday evening hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition, a political-advocacy group, Vance was asked by an interviewer how he decides which platforms to appear on, when some, including Carlson's, have featured people with antisemitic views.

 

Vance noted that many people in the room would disagree with Carlson and other podcasters who have been increasingly critical of the Trump administration.

 

The vice president this summer was also guest on the podcasts of Joe Rogan and Megyn Kelly. Vance said Rogan's audience consists of the type of people that Republicans need to win over in the midterms.

 

"I think it's a mistake to sort of say we're going to write Joe Rogan off because he said something that we don't like," Vance said. "I think the best approach is to actually go in there, and talk to him, and make the argument as best as you can."” [1]

 

1. U.S. News: Vance Defends His Carlson Friendship. Andrews, Natalie.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 04 Sep 2026: A4.