Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson said God would have to "yell" at him before he would consider joining Donald Trump's presidential campaign as a running-mate.
Carlson was speaking at a fundraiser for the American Principles Project in Virginia and was asked by an audience member about a report published in Axios claiming that Melania Trump wanted him to join her husband on his 2024 ticket.
“God would have to yell at me very loud,” he told the audience, according to The Messenger.
Regarding Ms Trump, he said he didn't "know her, really," and recognised the absurdity of him seeking elected office.
“To go from being, like, a well-paid street corner schizophrenic to, like, a politician — it’s just kind of hard to envision,” he said.
He went on to say he detested politics in general, despite it being the entirety of his career.
“Everything's some weird bank shot trying to manipulate this person to get back, and it's like, that's exactly the environment I detest,” he said.
Tucker Carlson interviews Donald Trump for a special that will air on 23 August, 2023, the same night as the first Republican presidential debate, which Mr Trump is skipping— (Tucker Carlson)
Politics isn't the only thing Carlson detests — Mr Trump himself once made that list. Before Fox News settled a lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems, it was revealed that Carlson had sent messages saying he hated the former president "passionately" and looked forward to "being able to ignore Trump most nights."
He later backtracked on the texts, claiming he sent them at a time when he felt humiliated for repeating false information fed to him by the Trump team, according to NBC News. He went on to say "I love Trump, like, as a person," after the texts became public.
Since then the pair have seemingly made up. During the first RNC primary debate, Mr Trump sat with Carlson for an interview that aired at the same time as the debate.