Tucker was open and relaxed, and Brand was a generous host, making sure that he had the time he needed to make his points.
A few of the key takeaways are provided below, but you should listen to the interview yourself, even if it is to only hear Tucker’s voice again. The interview starts at the 38-minute and 55-second mark.
First of all, Tucker, who always seems happy, disavows anger at being fired:
You know, it’s not the first time I’ve been fired. And I think in our business when you work for a big company in media, and you know you say what you think, there’s an expectation that you could get fired. So I’ve always had that, and I’ve always tried to take the long view, not just on media, but on life. All graves go unvisited in the end. [snip] And I don’t know why I was fired. I really don’t. I’m not angry about it. You can believe me or not, but I think you can feel that I’m not. And you know, I wish Fox well.
Countering to the left’s relentless charge that he is a racist, Tucker speaks of how his upbringing and faith mean he cannot be a racist, at least not as the term was understood during the past:
So, my views about race begin with my religious faith, which is not very sophisticated but is sincere. And that begins with the belief, the knowledge, the certainty that God created people, that they’re not objects, they’re not machines. They’re not widgets in a bin waiting to be assembled by some company.
They are distinct individuals with distinct souls, and they have equal value in the eyes of God. [It] doesn’t mean they have equal ability, doesn’t mean they all look the same? But it means they have equal inherent value.
And my politics flow from that belief. And so the idea that you would reduce people to their race and say, you know, we’re going to treat this person better or worse because of his skin color is repugnant to me. And it’s something that I’ve argued against every day that I was at Fox News. I think all of my life.
You can’t punish or reward people based on their immutable characteristics. Because they didn’t choose those characteristics, so it’s inherently unfair. It’s inherently immoral. I’m totally opposed to it.
The issue for Tucker is, as it should be for all of us, values. He disclaims being political, noting that his political predictions are usually wrong:
I’m not a very astute political analyst. I’m not interested in politics. I never have been interested in politics. I’m interested in ideas. I’m interested in people and so there’s a primary going on in the United States between Trump and a bunch of other people, primarily Ron DeSantis, the Governor, and Ford. Others Vivek Ramaswamy, for example. I haven’t said word one about it. Don’t plan to.
When people act, it’s important to name and, if necessary, shame them rather than let them hide behind institutions. However, unless voters first understand the ideas that animate people, they exist at the whim of demagogues.
Tucker goes on to say that Trump is transformative:
I, you know, I think looking back on this 10 years from now, assuming we’re still around, I think we’re going to see Trump’s emergence as the most significant thing to happen in American politics in 100 years because he reoriented the Republican Party against the wishes of Republican leaders.
Tucker believes when it comes to foreign policy, Trump is the only one getting it right, probably one of the reasons the Republican party hates him:
I’m struck by his foreign policy views. You know, Trump is the only person with stature in the Republican Party, really who’s saying, “Wait a second. You know, why are we supporting an endless war in Ukraine?”
And that, you know—leaving aside whether Trump’s gonna get the nomination or get elected president, or would be a good president; you know, I can’t even assess that—all I can say at this point is I’m so grateful that he has that position. He’s right. And everyone in Washington’s wrong everyone.
Tucker notes that there have been four populists in American presidential history: Teddy Roosevelt, Ross Perot, Trump, and (now) RFK, Jr. All of them have something in common:
The effective populists are the ones who critique from the inside and say I grew up in this world. … So these are people who know how the system works, cause they’ve benefited from the system and so their critique is much more meaningful and much more effective.
This is just scraping the surface. It is a fascinating interview because, as Tucker says, it’s not about politics.
He’s not doing the kind of mindless horse-race analysis that we usually endure. Instead, he and Russell talk about the ideas that drive the West and that, at the levels where the most power and wealth exist, are changing far more rapidly than we can grasp.
In closing, if you decide to not watch the complete video, at least watch the last 5-10 minutes where Tucker discusses the assassination of John F. Kennedy.