Vice President JD Vance defended his friendship with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson over his anti-Israel comments, even as calls grow for Vance to distance himself to prepare for a potential 2028 White House run.
“Everybody knows that Tucker Carlson and I are friends, and I think it’s very obvious that Tucker has said some things that I disagree with,” Vance said during a White House press briefing on Thursday. “He said some things about the president of the United States that I think are just wrong.”
Vance’s comments follow a closed-door speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition on Monday, where he denounced antisemitism but again declined to disavow Carlson.
The vice president said he wouldn’t allow political disagreements to define his friendships, but political experts have warned that Carlson’s antisemitism can’t easily be dismissed for any presidential contender.
“So yeah, Tucker is a friend of mine,” said Vance. “Tucker is a friend, despite the fact that we disagree on a number of things, and I’m not going to play the game where I throw friends under the bus because I have political disagreements with them. I think that is a terrible place for the United States to go.”
At the Republican Jewish Coalition gathering, Vance received positive reviews and a standing ovation, but a growing chorus of Republicans called on him to sever his ties to Carlson following the speech.
“The Vice President should absolutely disavow Tucker Carlson’s anti-Semitism,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) previously told the Washington Examiner in a text message.
Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said it is “inevitable” that Vance will have to separate from Carlson because the former Fox News host’s views are now outside Republican orthodoxy.
“I think the vice president’s calculation is by talking to Tucker’s listeners, he brings out a group of people to the polls who otherwise might not vote,” said Fleischer, who is Jewish. “But I think that this is going to dog the vice president, and he’s ultimately going to wish he made this move sooner rather than later.”
Another possible 2028 hopeful, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), has feuded with Carlson over his attacks against Israel since the Iran war began in February.
Cruz previously called Carlson the “most vocal proponent of this anti-semitism on the right.” That strident lane could help boost Cruz in a GOP presidential primary against Vance, if the vice president allows the issue to linger. A nonprofit with ties to Cruz is also slamming antisemitism as the Texas senator has begun to publicly doubt Vance’s ability to unite the GOP in 2028.
DESPITE REPUBLICAN JEWISH COALITION PRAISE, VANCE DRAWS CALLS TO PUBLICLY DISAVOW TUCKER CARLSON
Vance doesn’t appear willing just yet to heed the criticisms.
“If you have a disagreement with somebody politically, even over a deeply held issue, you should still be friends with that person because the whole republic depends on people of different perspectives being able to talk to one another — that’s how I try to live my life, and I encourage everybody else to do the same,” he said.