Tucker Carlson says Trump is a changed man after assassination attempt
Former FOX News host Tucker Carlson said Donald Trump is a changed man after he survived an assassination attempt Saturday during his remarks at The Republican National Convention Thursday.
Carlson joined several convention speakers attempting to humanize Trump and attribute his survival Saturday to “divine intervention.” He applauded Trump’s behavior in the week following the shooting, saying he turned down an opportunity to “inflame the nation” other politicians would have taken.
The TV personality said he called Trump hours after being shot, and that the former president did not talk about himself but said he was impressed by those attending the rally who remained calm.
“This is the selfish guy I’ve been hearing about for nine years? Really? Not a word about himself,” Carlson said. “Everything was different after that moment. Everything. This convention is different. The nation is different. The world is different. Donald Trump is different.”
More: RNC 2024 live updates: Mike Pompeo takes the stage; Donald Trump set to accept nomination
Trump famously got his news from FOX News and Carlson’s high-profile talk show while in office. The pair have maintained a friendship over the years, and Carlson claimed the shooting transformed Trump.
“In that moment, Donald Trump, months before the presidential election, became the leader of this nation, “Carlson said. “I think it changed him.”
Carlson also alluded to his past false claims that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” from Trump while seeming to take jabs at President Joe Biden.
“You could take, I don’t know, a mannequin, a dead person, and make him president,” Carlson said. “Theoretically possible. With enough cheating, that could happen.”
FOX News parted ways with Carlson in 2023 following a nine-figure settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, which sued the company over Carlson’s on-air comments about the 2020 election. Soon after, Carlson founded his own streaming network to broadcast to his audience, and in February, he interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The former president’s son, Donald Trump, Jr., revealed this week that if his father had not tapped Ohio Senator JD Vance to join him on the Republican ticket this November, he hoped he would have chosen Carlson.
Rachel Barber is a 2024 election fellow at USA TODAY, focusing on politics and education. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @rachelbarber_
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tucker Carlson praises 'changed' Trump at RNC after shooting