Democratic strategist James Carville pointed a finger at Tucker Carlson as the driving force behind President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet choices.
During a segment on MSNBC’s “The Beat” with Ari Melber, Carville weighed in on a comment made earlier by Jonathan Lemire. Lemire had linked Kash Patel’s nomination to Steve Bannon, suggesting it catered to Trump’s far-right supporters.
“People I’ve talked to say this pick was a nod to the extreme right-wing portions of the Trump base, the Steve Bannon, ultra-MAGA sector here, who had been disappointed by some of Trump’s more conventional picks like, say, Treasury secretary and secretary of state,” Lemire said. “So, this is Trump throwing them red meat because he knows he needs to keep them happy.”
After the clip aired, Carville dismissed Lemire’s take and shared his own theory.
“One person is driving this, I promise you. And it’s Tucker Carlson. Tucker’s an old friend of mine… We haven’t talked to each other in a while, but we were friends. But everything that I see is the same thing I heard in the green room in 2002. OK? And J.D. Vance, Don Jr., Kash Patel was Tucker’s business partner. I’m just telling you what’s out there. And Tucker is 40 times more clever than Steve Bannon,” Carville claimed.
Carville’s statement about Patel’s connection to Carlson was incorrect. Kash Patel has no business ties to Carlson. The actual business partner was Neil Patel, who co-founded the Daily Caller with Carlson and later took full ownership.
Carville continued to argue that Carlson wielded immense influence over Trump’s decisions.
“I think he has more influence in this current administration, way more than Vernon Jordan had in the Clinton administration or any of the kind of wise men that were around. But Tucker is very, very, very powerful. And the Kash Patel pick proves that beyond any doubt at all,” Carville insisted.
Trump recently announced several high-profile appointments. Former Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz was nominated for attorney general but later withdrew amid misconduct allegations. Trump also selected former Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth as Pentagon chief and named Kash Patel as FBI director.