Often deemed a conservative political pundit, Tucker Carlson said at Miami he is an independent Libertarian and supports Ron Paul for the presidency.
Prominent conservative pundit Tucker Carlson made the trek to Oxford March 12 to discuss the presidential election with students.
The appearance was Carlson's first public engagement following MSNBC's cancellation of his evening show, Tucker, just two days earlier. Interestingly enough, Carlson appeared before Miami without his signature bowtie during his small question and answer session and in his speech.
Despite the final airing of the show March 16, Carlson, 38, is staying with MSNBC under the title of senior campaign correspondent.
"I think (the cancellation is) a mistake," Carlson said. "Obviously we had a good show and had good ratings."
Carlson said MSNBC is headed in a different direction with its programming.
"They have plans for the network that are not where I'm going," Carlson said. "I'm just going off in my own direction as always."
Carlson reasoned that each network or company has a certain brand or image to uphold or evolve-or as he put it, "a way of presenting itself to the world"-and that MSNBC is currently changing its ways. This type of change, he said, should be expected within the television industry and he said he believes his cancellation had little to do with his ratings.
"When you work in TV, you wake up every morning expecting to get cancelled and some mornings it comes true," Carlson said. "If you're into stability and predictability and knowing where your paycheck is coming from, this is probably not the business for you."
During the lecture, which was planned by the Campus Activities Council (CAC) Lecture Board, Carlson showed his humorous side with multiple Green Beer Day references. For the most part, though, he centered his speech on the ongoing presidential primaries, his disdain for partisanship and his belief that the next president will be a Democrat.
"Any Democrat can beat any Republican right now," said Carlson, an independent libertarian who supported Texas Congressman Ron Paul, a Republican and a fellow libertarian.
Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter
With Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) recently sewing up the Republican nomination, Carlson predicted a fiery comeback on the blue side with Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) coming out on top against Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).
"Hillary Clinton is the single toughest person in America, political-wise," Carlson said. "Hillary Clinton has been attacked harshly, personally, everyday of her life since 1978 when her husband became governor (of Arkansas). There's no denying that's one tough chick, and that's the quality that wins elections...as unlikely as it sounds, put your money on Hillary Clinton."
While saying that he thought Obama was the most talented candidate he'd ever covered, he felt that in the end his biggest shortcoming was his inexperience in dealing with crises, joking that leading the Harvard Law Review was hardly a crisis.
On the red side of things, he pointed out some fundamental differences between himself and McCain, especially on foreign policy. Carlson said he liked McCain and that he was the only politician he would ever want his son to grow up to be.
On the issue of partisanship, Carlson received a loud applause from the audience after voicing his contempt for a couple of popular staples of American culture and belief.
"Partisanship is for dumb people," Carlson said. "You should vote for the candidate that is the best."
Another belief that Carlson took issue with was the notion of requiring Americans to vote, as he felt the freedom not to vote showed the health of a country.
"(That) most people go about their daily lives disengaged in politics is a good sign of a healthy country," Carlson said. "Why encourage everyone to vote if they don't know what they're voting about? I don't want uninformed people voting. I want people who care."
Senior Alex Dombroff enjoyed hearing Carlson's opinions about issues like informed voting despite his own indifference toward politics.
"I think it would be pretty ideal if everybody in this country knew what they were talking about (when voting)," Dombroff said. "I think everyone should be educated before doing something as important as voting ... I'm not a huge fan of politics, I'm just a Yankee fan and that's my number one love, so for someone like me not to be completely bored, (Carlson had to do) a pretty good job (engaging listeners)."
Carlson also said that despitet other elections where newscasters tell their audience that whatever election they are currently covering is the most significant one in American history, our current one is quite important.
"This year is somewhat of an anomaly," Carlson said. "Intrinsically this is a year more important than others. Differing views on foreign policy is what this is all about. That's what matters."
Aside from his recent roles hosting CNN's Crossfire and MSNBC's Tucker, along with his current work as a correspondent, Carlson also writes for The New Republic, Esquire, The New York Times Magazine, and The Weekly Standard.
Read More
How one professor and her classes are preserving Oxford’s Black history
By Sean Scott | March 20, 2024Jazma Sutton, an assistant professor of history, teaches The Black Midwest (HST 350Q) and Black Women in America (HST 450D) classes. In both courses, she has students working with the Smith Library of Regional History and Miami’s archives to document and preserve Black history in Oxford.
Miami faculty members recount Freedom Summer in new documentary
By Luke Macy | February 25, 2022After seven years of work, “Training for Freedom,” a documentary highlighting Oxford’s involvement in the Freedom Summer of 1964, premiered on PBS Western Reserve on Valentine’s Day.
“Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic”: History in the making
By Alice Momany | August 29, 2021In March 2020, Miami University’s archives launched “Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic,” a collection focused on life during the COVID-19 pandemic.