'There's no defending this': Tucker Carlson says he will never support the Republican Party

Longtime conservative commentator Tucker Carlson has now openly declared that "there's no chance" he would support the Republican Party ahead of the upcoming midterm elections in November. Breaking from the political affiliation he's defended for decades, including as one of Fox News's most popular hosts, Carlson has withdrawn his support for President Donald Trump, whom he endorsed in 2024. The defection underscores growing fractures inside the MAGA coalition, as criticism of the Iran war and the GOP's handling of the economy continues. 

"I'm out," Carlson said on an episode of the 'Can't Be Censored' podcast that gained widespread traction on Monday. "The poll numbers now tell a pretty clear story about it. I would not support the Republican Party, there's no chance," he said before quickly adding that he won't support the Democratic Party either. "I don't know what I’m going to do,” he said, asking how an American "could support a political party that’s not loyal to the United States," referring to Trump initiating the Iran war alongside Israel after promising no more wars in his 2024 election campaign. 

"It's not possible to vote for people like that, and I'm not going to. I voted Republican my entire life, I worked at Fox News, I've been a consistent defender for 35 years of the Republican Party, but there's no defending this because it's immoral," Carlson declared. The former Fox News host amassed a large following on his own podcast after he was fired by the network in 2023. He has since grown divergent from the Republican Party, which was amplified by Trump's decision to go to war. "So no, I'm out," he said. "And if I'm out, then I think a lot of other people are out, too," Carlson said after he apologized earlier this year for backing Trump in 2024, admitting his actions were "misleading" and that they would "haunt him for life." 

The defection comes as Trump's approval ratings have plummeted to record lows, with Americans increasingly frustrated with rising gas prices and a prolonged war. Fractures have appeared within the party as well, with a handful of Republicans breaking with Trump on some key issues. This month, the House passed legislation designed to force the President to end the Iran war. While previous such measures failed, this time four Republicans, Thomas Massie, Brian Fitzpatrick, Tom Barrett, and Warren Davidson, joined Democrats to support the largely symbolic resolution, as per The Hill.

The relationship between the President and Senate Republicans neared another breaking point as he backed down from his efforts to speedily confirm one of his own nominees and said he would not sign the renewal of a key surveillance law unless they agreed to new terms. In an overnight social media post, Trump announced that he was delaying Jay Clayton's nomination to become national intelligence director, hours before the U.S. attorney's confirmation hearing, a move that reportedly strained relations between the Senate and White House, as per PBS. Following this, Republican senators who have been hesitant to challenge their leader were blunt in their criticism of his deal with Iran. "This is the worst foreign policy blunder in decades," Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La) wrote in a post on X.