Tucker Carlson says Trump’s response to shooting transformed him into the nation’s leader

MILWAUKEE – Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson said he thinks former President Donald Trump is a changed man after getting shot, turning him into the leader needed to unify the nation.

Speaking on the final night of the Republican National Convention, Mr. Carlson said Mr. Trump’s shooting showed “God is among us right now.”

“When he stood after being shot in the face, bloodied and put his hand up, I thought at that moment that was a transformation,” Mr. Carlson said. “He was no longer just a political party nominee, or a former president or a future president, this was the leader of the nation.”

Mr. Carlson said Mr. Trump could have turned the events into a political weapon, but he has not.

“He turned down the most obvious opportunity in politics to inflame the nation after being shot, which is an opportunity that almost every other politician I ever met, and certainly his opponents, would have taken instantly,” he said. “But in the moments, the days, the week after the shooting, he did not say that.

“He did his best to bring the people together,” he said. “This is the most responsible unifying behavior of a leader I think I have ever seen.”

Mr. Carlson, 55, was the first person to welcome Mr. Trump into the convention hall on Monday, two days after a gunman attempted to kill the former president at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

Mr. Trump triumphantly marched in and was received with loud ovations from his supporters.

Mr. Carlson reportedly urged Mr. Trump to choose Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, a frequent guest on his former Fox show, to be his running mate.

“He is a very decent man,” Mr. Carlson said. “J.D. Vance has views that are closer to Trump’s voters than anyone else in Washington in office. Therefore, he is the vice president.”

The founder and owner of the nascent Tucker Carlson Network, Mr. Carlson left his top-rated Fox News show more than one year ago after the cable news network settled a $787.5 million lawsuit over the channel airing allegations that the Dominion voting machines were rigged in favor of President Biden during the 2020 election.

The termination of Mr. Carlson left him blindsided after being the No. 1 rated cable news host.

Since his departure, he has posted interviews from his Tucker Carlson Network with high-profile American and foreign officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, to X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk.