Tucker Carlson’s Reason For Leaving The GOP Is Unpatriotic

The former FOX News host joins Marjorie Taylor Greene as “ex-Republicans” who championed corruption until selective outrage provided an opportunistic overhaul.

By Carron J. Phillips

Misdirection is a magician’s best friend. In politics, it’s known as a pivot. Tucker Carlson is using it as a convenient rebrand.

Seven months after Marjorie Taylor Greene quit Congress in disgust, Carlson denounced the Republican Party because he is fed up with President Donald Trump. Like Greene, Carlson has a thorough understanding of the consequences of elections. However, the years-long drumbeating he did in support of the Trump regime’s vile devastation and corruption was fine with him as long as he wasn’t inconvenienced. Apparently, there’s a straw that has broken this camel’s back. Unsurprisingly, the straw for Carlson was Trump’s foreign policy, not his oppression of Americans.

Tucker Carlson at a 2025 Turning Points USA event. (Xuthoria via Wikimedia Commons)

“They are making decisions on the basis of other criteria — what’s best for this company, what’s best for Israel, what’s best for our donors,” Carlson said about Republican leaders on a recent podcast, pointing to the war with Iran being his limit. “That’s not just being headed in the wrong direction. That is unacceptable. That’s treasonous. It’s immoral. It can’t continue.”

“I’m not going to support the Democratic Party,” he also publicly stated. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

The irony of Carlson being a man without a party or a plan, given his previous allegiance to a man who claimed to have “concepts of plan” regarding healthcare (after a decade of promising a plan), is both hilarious and maddening. Notably, Carlson reportedly sent a text message about how he hated Trump “passionately” just two days before Jan. 6, 2021. Carlson’s desire to be on whatever side he thinks is winning exemplifies why his momentary dissension should be ignored. “I’m voting for Trump, and if they convict him, I will send him the max donations, and I will lead protests,” he told Roseanne Barr less than three years ago, admitting to losing friends over having “always agreed with Trump’s policies.”

The cowardice in how Carlson maneuvers is a sufficient reason to ignore his shifting political allegiances. However, the unpatriotic nature of his devotion to policies and legislation that persecute millions is the bigger issue. Here is a list of some of actions by Trump and his administration that were not severe enough for Carlson to leave:

• Grabbing women “by the p*ssy” and facing dozens of sexual misconduct allegations;

• Being a twice-impeached convicted felon;

• His ties to Vladimir Putin, Russia, and Jeffrey Epstein;

• Catalyzing an insurrection;

• Retaining classified documents after leaving office;

• Mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic;

• Enforcing a prejudiced Muslim travel ban;

• Dismantling DEI initiatives, affirmative action, Roe v. Wade, and the Voting Rights Act;

• The racist treatment of the Exonerated Five and the Obamas;

• Being indicted for election interference;

• Contributing to high gas prices, inflation, and a dismal unemployment rate;

• Reducing SNAP benefits and eliminating student loan forgiveness;

• Creating DOGE;

• Being a global embarrassment to the country.

This list is intentionally overwhelming, inundating, and excessive. Though we have endured these things and more, presenting them as a comprehensive catalogue of vile governance serves as a reminder to shake off the detachment sometimes required to navigate these times.

The recent sighting of the former first families in attendance at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago serves as a reminder of how Carlson and so many of his “former” listeners, colleagues, and political allies found their way to support someone like Trump. Former President George W. Bush provided an important layer of context to that path, as his failures in office played a significant role in the election of this country’s first Black president — and for Trump to be the retaliatory candidate.

“The latent racism of the Republican Party, which has been there since the Southern Strategy, was the kindling, and Trump just lit the flame,” author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates recently explained on MSNOW. “There is a tendency to see Trump as a departure from what Republicans previously have been, but he’s not. What he’s done is taken the mask off. Trump is vulgar, that’s the real difference.”

On another platform, Coates also said that “I don’t know that he (Obama) ever just understood the extent to which he was loathed by the opposition party, and how active and how powerful that hatred was.”

With the 2028 presidential election just 28 months away, there is ample time for more people like Tucker Carlson to realize that prioritizing allegiance to a candidate and a political party over their own country has been a key factor in America’s decline since Trump infamously announced his candidacy by descending that escalator. The idea of Republicans awakening to the need for change and moving away from this administration would be a step in the right direction. However, for this pivot to be truly meaningful, it must be accompanied by apologies and accountability for their past decisions. Without an apology and accountability, they could easily succumb to a more polished candidate with the same divisive politics, resulting in no change – and more harm to Americans.

On Wednesday, Trump canceled the signing of a bipartisan housing bill that could have helped millions of Americans across the political spectrum. He did this because he is still demanding legislation that would increase voter suppression in the country. This not only showed how frustrating it is to deal with an unfit leader, but it also was another example of how treasonous this regime and its supporters have always been.

Carron J. Phillips is an award-winning journalist who writes on race, culture, social issues, politics, and sports. He hails from Saginaw, Michigan, and is a graduate of Morehouse College and Syracuse University. Follow his personal Substack to keep up with more of his work.

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