DES MOINES, Iowa — Six Republican presidential candidates descended on Iowa on Friday to win over conservative Christian voters, one of the most powerful voting blocs in primaries.
But it turned out that they really had to win over just one person: Tucker Carlson.
For some of them, that was quite difficult.
The ousted Fox News host moderated Friday’s Family Leadership Summit, a prominent gathering of conservative Christians attended by several 2024 Republican contenders.
But throughout the show, each candidate saw a different side to Carlson, whose questioning set the stage for the response from the nearly 2,000-strong crowd.
Many of Carlson’s pet issues, such as his skepticism about the United States’ involvement in the Ukraine war, came up prominently, prompting candidates who did not hold the same position to lash out.
Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson’s time on stage was tense. For Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina it was friendly. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley’s appearance started out fraught, but she eventually won the former Fox News personality and the public over with a handful of memorable pivots. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and company owner Vivek Ramaswamy received warm treatment from Carlson.
But former Vice President Mike Pence may have had the worst of it.
Seconds after Pence’s time on stage began, Carlson launched into asking the former vice president if he would call January 6 “an insurrection.” Pence said that he “never used the word” but called it a riot. He also criticized former President Donald Trump, who remains a beloved figure among many conservatives in Iowa, for endangering the Pence family during his supporters’ takeover of the U.S. Capitol.
Carlson pursued him more vigorously, interrogating him about his support for Ukraine and bombarding him with questions about whether the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was respecting religious freedom.
The exchange escalated markedly when Carlson insisted that Zelenskyy had “arrested priests for holding views they disagree with.” Pence repeatedly responded, saying that he had asked religious leaders about this issue during his trip to the country in June and was told it wasn’t happening. Carlson refused to let Pence go any further, saying, “I can’t let it slide over the issue of treatment of Christians and clergy.”
Finally, the mild-mannered Pence raised his voice to say something.
“The problem is that you don’t accept my answer,” he said.
The interaction drew boos from the audience.
Hutchinson’s interactions with Carlson were equally tense, with the two fighting over transgender rights and covid vaccines.
Immediately, Carlson asked the former Arkansas governor if his stance had changed since he vetoed a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth in 2021. Hutchinson defended his position, saying that while he agreed minors shouldn’t undergoing transgender surgery, she felt the bill went too far. Carlson refused to budge, even after being asked by Hutchinson.
“Tucker, I hope you can talk about a few things,” he said, before Carlson cut him off.
“This is one of the biggest issues in the country, and I think that it would, every person in this room would agree,” he said.
Tensions escalated further when the former Fox News host focused on vaccinations, asking how many shots Hutchinson had received.
Instead of answering, Hutchinson replied: “How many covid shots did you take?”
“Zero” Carlson replied to loud applause.
Haley seemed to win Carlson over, but only after overcoming a rocky start.
After Carlson asked if there were “irregularities” in the 2020 election, he was met with saying that “President Biden ended up winning the election,” an acknowledgment that drew groans from audience members.
But when he cleverly maneuvered a question from Carlson about “who blew up the Nord Stream pipeline,” he insinuated without evidence that the United States had destroyed the key Russian asset, an unsubstantiated claim often pushed on his Fox News show – in a lighter conversation about the still unknown identity of the culprit who left cocaine in the White House, the audience and Carlson lit up with joy.
“I strongly believe that this is a cover-up for [Joe Biden’s son] Hunter or someone very close to the president,” he said, drawing laughter and applause.
The tone of the exchange improved markedly after that, and Carlson didn’t stop her from delivering a short speech at the end of her remarks, something other candidates didn’t.
Ramaswamy, who appeared frequently on Carlson’s since-cancelled Fox News show (he even announced his candidacy on the show), and the former host talked like old friends, and Scott, who was the first candidate to take the stage with Carlson, received a very friendly deal. , also.
And unlike Pence and Hutchinson, during moments when Carlson tried to drill specific responses into him or insert controversy, Scott responded with kindness.
For example, early in the conversation, Carlson tried to point out to Scott the specific number of undocumented immigrants he would deport if he were elected president.
After receiving a rebuff from Carlson for not responding, Scott sidetracked with a bit of fawning.
“In order for us to achieve the goals that this really brilliant guy on stage – and I’m not talking about myself – wants us to achieve,” he said, “we have to identify where they are, and I’m not going to pretend it’s going to be an easy task, but That should be the answer.”
DeSantis was the last to come up with Carlson, but he was the first candidate the commentator asked directly about abortion. The omission was conspicuous because a centerpiece of the day was Gov. Kim Reynolds’ signing of a six-week abortion ban.
DeSantis, who also signed a six-month abortion ban in Florida, did not receive much criticism after dodging questions from Carlson about whether he would sign a similar federal ban if elected president.
By not inviting other conservative candidates to promote their own registries on abortion restrictions, Carlson effectively stripped them of the ability to advertise what might have been, for some, their greatest appeal to Christian voters.
Pence, who throughout his career cultivated a reputation as a staunch opponent of abortion, seemed particularly frustrated by that turn of events.
“I’m sorry we didn’t have a lot of time during my time on stage to talk about life progress or issues affecting the family,” he told reporters after his time on stage.
Missing from the summit was former President Donald Trump, who skipped the event, an absence that ironically may not have hurt him.
While Trump remains popular with Iowa Republican voters, his latest attacks on Reynolds likely would have invited scrutiny.
Instead, his absence allowed voters, and Carlson, to focus on his rivals for the nomination, many of whom, due to the commentator’s approach, stumbled.
“Maybe it’s a good thing President Trump isn’t here,” Kari Lake told reporters between appearances by the candidates.
The Trump ally who lost the Arizona gubernatorial race last year said it would have been “very embarrassing” for Trump’s competitors for the nomination “because we already know that he has proven himself on all of these issues.”
“These guys,” he added, were “stumbling and stumbling across the stage.
“They can’t even answer a technical question,” he said.
