How Tucker Carlson and Elon Musk Secretly Lobbied Trump on J.D. Vance

Shortly after the attempted assassination on Donald Trump, creepy tech bros and Tucker Carlson campaigned for J.D. Vance to be Trump’s pick for vice president.

According to Axios, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and billionaires Elon Musk and David Sacks all began a “secret lobbying campaign,” which involved calling Trump to secure Vance’s position as next in line in case there was another attack on Trump’s life.

Carlson told Axios he backed Vance because he was the only top contender that “doesn’t secretly hate Trump, as all the rest of them do. He fundamentally agrees with Trump.” Carlson also noted that the two shared the same values on cutting aid for Ukraine. According to The New York Times, Carlson dissuaded Trump from considering Marco Rubio or other “neocons” aligned with the Fox News ecosystem.

Perhaps the secret lobbying campaign by tech billionaires isn’t a huge surprise. Three years ago, Trump met with Vance for the first time, as he was shepherded by billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel. Despite Vance’s working-class facade, he is a former venture capitalist with strong relationships to those in Silicon Valley. According to Trump-world insiders, Vance’s tech and finance-world connections could also open up doors for GOP fundraising, sweetening the deal.

It seems like that promise is already coming true as the tech bros and crypto-fascists are lining up behind the Trump-Vance ticket. On Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk plans to donate $45 million per month to the pro-Trump America PAC, and right-wing tech-moguls Marc Andreesen and Ben Horowitz are pledging to donate as well.

With Trump’s pick of Vance, the growing reactionary tech movement may have secured a seat at the table.