Candace Owens says she has no plans to run for president in 2028, but she already knows who she would support if a campaign took shape. Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia on June 4, Owens publicly backed Tucker Carlson as someone she would like to see enter the presidential race. The podcast host made the remarks during an interview with former CNN anchor Rick Sanchez, who now lives in Moscow. Owens was attending the event alongside several well-known figures, including Steven Seagal and Andrew Tate.
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When Sanchez brought up speculation about her own political future, Owens quickly rejected the idea. She said she has little interest in working within the traditional political system and joked that she would rather be a dictator than a president.
“I always tell my listeners I’d never run for president, I’d only run for dictator, because I’m not dealing with Congress, I’m not dealing with lobbying, I am not dealing with any of this, I am not dealing with Lindsey Graham calling for another war,” Owens said.
“I’m just going to be like, ‘Here’s what we’re doing and here’s what we’re not doing.’ So I tell them, vote for me if the terms are acceptable: that I will be dictator of the United States, and that is it,” she added.
Candace Owens backs Tucker Carlson and discusses Charlie Kirk’s death
While ruling herself out of a presidential run, Owens made it clear that Tucker Carlson would have her support if he decided to enter politics.
“In the short run, I really don’t have an interest in running for office because there is just too much inauthenticity, also, you know, the great letdown of Trump,” Owens said.
She then explained why she believes Carlson could be a strong candidate.
“I would be interested in strongly getting behind someone like Tucker Carlson, though. Would you? I would. And so I would love for him to run, and I would create the dynamic that me and Charlie had and run all over to help him get elected,” Owens said.
Owens also spoke about the late Charlie Kirk, the Turning Point USA founder who was killed in September 2025. She praised Carlson and Megyn Kelly while discussing people she trusts following Kirk’s death.
“I would also say Megyn Kelly, who told the truth about Charlie shifting perspectives toward the end — just only further committed me,” Owens said.
Speaking about Carlson, she added, “He’s also at a great place in his life. His children are older. I would gratefully get behind someone like Tucker Carlson.”
Carlson, however, has repeatedly downplayed talk of a presidential campaign. In a recent interview with The Economist, he said he was “of course not” interested in seeking the Republican nomination. He also told Piers Morgan that politics feels “disgusting” to him and that “coalition-building” is not something he enjoys.
Even so, prediction market Polymarket recently showed his chances of winning the 2028 Republican presidential nomination at nearly 10%, keeping his name in the conversation despite his public reluctance.
