Former President Donald Trump greeted right-wing media personality Tucker Carlson before he even shook hands with his vice-presidential pick, Sen. JD Vance (Ohio), at the Republican National Convention on Monday.
Trump, wearing a white bandage over his right ear that was injured in the assassination attempt he suffered over the weekend at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, entered the Milwaukee venue waving at his supporters and holding up his fist.
As the former president walked toward his seat looking emotional with supporters cheering him on, Carlson was the first person he shook hands with. Carlson was seated next to GOP Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, an ally of the former president in Congress. Trump eventually took his seat next to Vance.
Carlson along with Elon Musk and tech investor David Sacks were among those pushing for Trump to select Vance as his running mate, according to Axios.
Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social platform earlier Monday, calling Vance the “best suited person” to assume the role.
Carlson is expected to address the RNC audience this week.
Carlson, who now hosts a talk show on social media following his abrupt departure from Fox News in April 2023, has been one of the former president’s most ardent supporters in the media. He was also at one point floated as a potential vice-presidential pick for the former president.
Carlson previously told Axios that one of the advantages of picking Vance as VP “is that he doesn’t secretly hate Trump, as all the rest of them do.”
“He fundamentally agrees with Trump,” Carlson added.
Yet, in the past it’s been shown that Carlson was not too fond of Trump himself.
Private messages unearthed during the discovery process of the Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit against Fox News showed the former prime-time host expressing a critical opinion of the former president.
“I hate him passionately,” Carlson wrote at the time.