Tucker Carlson’s Trump Assassination Conspiracy Theory Explained: Where It Started, Who Is Pushing It
Topline
Former Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson has repeatedly pedaled a conspiracy theory that Donald Trump will be the target of an assassination plot, most recently saying in an interview the U.S. is “speeding toward” the former president’s assassination—an unfounded claim amplified by other right-wing media personalities.
Key Facts
Carlson, who hosts his interviews on X, formerly known as Twitter, first asserted the conspiracy theory during his August interview with Trump in which he asked the Republican presidential frontrunner if he was concerned about attempts on his life—a line of questioning Trump did not directly answer, opting instead to use it as a chance to blast his critics and political opponents.
Carlson’s conspiracy theory is sparked by escalated legal pressures faced by Trump, and vaguely claims an assassination against Trump is the next step from political opponents after the former president’s two impeachments and four indictments.
The former Fox News host repeated his unfounded claim in an interview with podcaster Adam Carolla this week, saying “we’re speeding toward [Trump’s] assassination” before accusing the Democratic and Republican parties of being so threatened by Trump, “they just can’t have him.”
Infowars, owned by far-right commentator and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, said Thursday Carlson “raised the alarm” that Trump “is in danger of being assassinated”—a conspiracy theory pushed earlier this year by Jones, who said “I think they’ll blow his airplane up.”
The conspiracy theory was also amplified in a Thursday podcast episode from former Fox News host Dan Bongino, who lauded Carlson as a credible source and said the Democratic party “want [Trump] dead, they cannot have this guy in the White House.”
Tangent
Vladimir Solovyov, who the State Department has called “the most energetic Kremlin propagandist around today,” portrayed Carlson as a truth-teller who himself was under threat of assassination, a “dead man walking,” after the former Fox News host claimed the U.S. was preparing for war with Russia within the next year. Solovyov said Carlson’s alleged attempts to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin were offenses that could result in Carlson’s death while traveling or eating something “that he shouldn’t.” The Daily Beast suggested Solovyov may be attempting to convince viewers in Russia that political assassinations—more commonplace in Russia, and speculated to be behind the death of Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin—are actually “quite common all over the globe.”
Key Background
Carlson, who was fired by Fox News in April, is no stranger to pedaling conspiracy theories on his platforms. The former Fox News host turned X podcaster has pushed false narratives regarding Covid-19, the 2020 election, the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack and the Russia-Ukraine war. Carlson’s rhetoric has even picked up attention from Russia’s Department of Information and Telecommunications Support, according to Mother Jones, which reported last year the Russian government advised state-run media outlets to use as many fragments from Carlson’s broadcasts as possible.
