The U.K. book Paddy Power has Fox News host Tucker Carlson with 50/1 odds of winning the 2024 presidential election, The Daily Caller reported. The publication cited a sports gambling odds calculator that said Carlson’s odds are equivalent to approximately a 1.96 percent chance of victory.
Elsewhere, Paddy Power has Oprah Winfrey with 33/1 odds, incoming Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg with 14/1, former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan with 25/1, and President-elect Joe Biden with 4/1.
Rumors of a Carlson 2024 run have been swirling for months. As reported by Politico in July, many figures within the GOP at the time were “buzzing” about the possibility of Carlson taking the torch of Donald Trump’s MAGA movement and viewed him as a frontrunner for the coalition’s next presidential nomination.
“His popularity with the base would instigate a debate over the future of the party — essentially whether Trump was an aberration or a party-realigning disrupter — a fight that will be all the fiercer if Trump loses in November,” the publication wrote.
“Let me put it this way: If Biden wins and Tucker decided to run, he’d be the nominee,” said Sam Nunberg, a former top political aide to Trump who is acquainted with Carlson.
According to former GOP strategist Steve Schmidt , the conservative host was the frontrunner for the coalition’s presidential nomination at the time in early November. Schmidt pointed to America’s purported affinity for the head of state’s cult of personality and suggested that Carlson — who often speaks on issues that align with the president’s agenda — could easily take his place.
Former Republican candidate for Congress Vernon Robinson echoed Schmidt and confidently predicted that Carlson would be the GOP’s 2024 presidential nominee.
Despite the speculation, Carlson appeared to throw cold water on the idea during an appearance on The Interview podcast in August.
“Imagine a country where I’m considered a serious candidate for something, it’s just hard to imagine anything like that.”
Still, Carlson appears to have support from within the party. According to The Daily Express , the Fox News host has the backing of “a number of Republican figures” should he want to challenge President-elect Joe Biden in 2024.
“Experts have said that Mr. Carlson has used his media platform to garner significant influence in the Republican Party,” the publication claimed.
Fellow Fox News host Sean Hannity has also sparked speculation of a possible 2024 run. As The Inquisitr reported, The New Atlantis editor Ari Schulman resurfaced such speculation late last month. Nevertheless, Lynda McLaughlin, Hannity’s longtime executive producer, claimed that he doesn’t have any interest in making a play for the White House.