Mother Jones illustration; Brian Cahn/ZUMA; Carolyn Kaster/AP
This week, the Republican National Convention confirmed Ohio senator and Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Vance as their vice presidential nominee for this year’s election. This came as a surprise to some—especially considering Vance’s comments about the former president comparing Trump to Hitler. But like many of Donald Trump’s decisions, this one was also inspired by Fox News.
Specifically, Tucker Carlson.
When you line up Vance’s full range of media appearances since he burst into the American consciousness, it’s difficult to overstate Carlson’s influence: from poor “hillbilly” to New York Times bestselling author to Republican Senator to possibly the second-most powerful person in the country. In my new video, I show how Carlson put Vance on a pedestal, giving him time to mold his image from a center-right-ish commentator to an ultra-conservative crusader in the culture wars. According to Media Matters, Vance appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight 46 times between 2018 and 2023, when Carlson was fired from the network. This coverage paired with Carlson’s frequent and passionate endorsements of Vance portrayed him as a viable option for Vice President, despite a controversial record on abortion, climate change, and foreign policy.
Tucker Carlson saw something in JD Vance: a vessel for power, for billionaires’ dollars, and for a vision of the future Carlson never got to finalize at Fox.
