When Tucker Carlson took the stage at the Republican National Convention last month in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, not even a week had passed since Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at his Butler, Pennsylvania rally.
Carlson shared in his remarks that he spoke to the former president hours after the shooting and said Trump spoke not of himself but of the rally goers who maintained their composure in the midst of the chaos. “This is the selfish guy I’ve been hearing about for nine years? Really? Not a word about himself,” Carlson said at the RNC. “Everything was different after that moment. Everything. This convention is different. The nation is different. The world is different. Donald Trump is different.”
The GOP nominee has subsequently downplayed comments about how the attempt on his life may have impacted him. On Thursday’s show, Megyn was joined by Carlson and asked him what he thinks has changed for Trump in the last six weeks.
Trumped Up Change?
Carlson was not alone in suggesting Trump may have been affected by the incident and there were moments at the convention where a softer side of the forty-fifth president seemed to be on display. But by the end of July, Trump was back on the campaign trail with some thoughts on the subject:
TRUMP: They all say, ‘I think he’s changed. I think he’s changed since two weeks ago. Something affected him.’ No, I haven’t changed. Maybe I’ve gotten worse, actually, because I get angry at the incompetence that I witness every single day, the way millions of people are pouring into our country…
– July 28, 2024, St. Cloud, Minnesota
In Carlson’s view, it would be impossible for someone to not be changed after experiencing a life-changing event. “I was just noting the obvious, which is you can’t go through something like that without being changed,” he said. “I’ve never been shot, but… every person who makes it to his or her fifties goes through unexpected events… that [are] kind of shocking.”
He said there are usually stages to how one processes such situations. “At first, you think, ‘Well, I’m fine. I’m totally the same person.’ And then over time, you realize, ‘No, that really changed me. That changed my perceptions of things, my assumptions about things, my reaction to things. I’m thinking thoughts I had never thought before,'” Carlson explained. “I mean, it is just kind of inevitable. Nobody could go through that without being changed.”
What Comes Next
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Carlson said he sensed a shift from Trump. “My sense at the convention – because I talked to him every day when I was there – was that he was thinking a lot more about eternal questions, which I think is really important for all of us to be brooding on every day,” he shared. “I think he was thinking about that more.”
While it remains to be seen what that means long term for the former president, Carlson spoke from his own personal experience. “I’ve never been shot or anything like that, but every traumatic, unexpected thing that has ever happened to me… including getting fired a bunch, they’ve all been great,” he said. “It’s good for you to have your cage rattled. I think it has been great for me. I can tell you that.”
In this political climate, however, Megyn said she sees where Trump is coming from. “I think he’s right when it comes to the political fight,” she said. “How can he be super sweet and nice when they’re calling him Hitler and they’re calling him a racist every day or a misogynist every day? This is this from the Democratic National Convention.”
For example, Michelle Obama used a good portion of her speech Tuesday night to double down on allegations of racism and misogyny against Trump… while also calling for respect and empathy. “This is from the ‘nice’ people like Michelle Obama,” Megyn said. “So, I personally don’t see how Trump is ‘nice’ in trying to win the presidency. No one is. This is not a situation where niceness wins.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Carlson by tuning in to episode 868 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.