News/Commentary

Al Sharpton claims Tucker saw the writing on the wall before Trump supporters did

June 24, 2026 | | Print Article

Doublespeak from Rev. Al Sharpton found him opining on a “very strange” Tucker Carlson, who may or may not be a “hypocrite or a liar” for bailing on the GOP.

(Video Credit: MS NOW)

Late last week, former Fox News host Carlson appeared on the “Can’t Be Censored” podcast, where he declared himself done with the Republican Party over the “war with Iran — a war we are losing.” While the move found the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene lining up behind him, Sharpton made the case that the commentator sees President Donald Trump and his allies “going over the cliff, and he’s not going over with ’em.”

Appearing alongside host Ari Melber and Molly Jong-Fast on MS NOW’s “The Beat,” Sharpton was asked to react to Carlson distancing himself from Republicans “after all this time.”

Teasing the potential of a third-party shakeup come the 2028 presidential cycle, he began, “Tucker Carlson is very influential in far-right circles. There are even those that have suggested that he may be thinking of running for president himself. And if he does, that would, in my opinion, be very beneficial to the Democrat, whoever that may be, to have a Republican nominee, and Tucker, who you could not underestimate, would get a lot of the far-right guys and ladies that agree with that.”

It was then that Sharpton turned to his own experience with Carlson to support his assertion that the commentator was genuine in his recent statements, “You know, I know Tucker. He’s a very strange guy. 20 years ago, I went and had led a delegation to Africa, and he covered it for Esquire. So I spent some time with him and time after. And he really believes a lot of what he’s saying. I think a lot of what he’s saying is bizarre, but I do not think he’s a hypocrite or a liar. He believes that stuff, which means he can sell it.”

In response to a question from Melber as to whether or not Carlson would be saying the same if he believed the GOP would remain popular, Sharpton seemed to contradict himself from a moment earlier as he conceded, “No, I do not think he would say it if he felt they would remain popular. If he felt that they were in a position to do some of the things he believed, he wouldn’t be saying it, or if he had faith that this president and his successor was going to do things and win. I think he would save his bet.”

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“I think that he sees them going over the cliff and he’s not going over with ’em,” concluded Sharpton.

Contrary to the panel’s insistence that opposition to military action in Iran was a winning argument at present, data from prediction market Polymarket found that, since early February, Carlson had seen a loss of four points on his chance of winning a 2028 presidential primary, bringing him into single digits while Vice President J.D. Vance had likewise dropped from 50% to 35%. At the same time, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had seen his numbers bolstered, climbing 13 points to 25%.

Additionally, a recent survey from Echelon Insights polled Carlson as having statistically 0% compared to Vance, Rubio, Donald Trump Jr., Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and others.

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Kevin Haggerty
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