Donald Trump airs old grievances in Tucker Carlson interview aimed at snubbing GOP presidential debate

Tucker Carlson’s interview with Donald Trump was timed to coincide with the first Republican presidential debate on Wednesday night.

But the former president, who promised “sparks will fly” ahead of the show, largely repeated old talking points in the pre-recorded interview from his Bedminster, N.J. golf club.

Trump aired many of his longstanding grievances about the 2020 election he lost while repeating long-running complaints about the ineffectiveness of wind power and water pressure in modern machines. He also questioned the dependability of electric cars.

Carlson, who’s been canned by CNN, MSNBC and Fox News — which aired the debate — rhetorically asked Trump if he felt TV news was on the decline.

“I thought it was a terrible move getting rid of you,” Trump said of Carlson’s removal from Fox.

The host piled on by insulting his former colleague Chris Wallace as a “b----y little man.”

Carlson’s questions included asking Trump if he believed Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide in jail, as officials have stated. Trump, who knew Epstein, said that conclusion sounds reasonable.

“He was killed,” Carlson countered without evidence.

The former TV host bemoaned the two impeachments and four indictments against Trump, then wondered what might happen next.

“Why wouldn’t they try and kill you?” Carlson asked. “Don’t they have to kill you now?”

It was not clear whom Carlson meant by the ominous word “they.”

Trump, 77, predicted President Biden, 80, was unlikely to “make it to the gate” for next year’s presidential race.

More than 75 million people clicked to the 46-minute interview posted to Carlson’s social media page Wednesday.

The host wound down that chat by asking Trump if the U.S. was headed for civil war.

After boasting about the size of the crowd that attended his Jan. 6, 2021 speech before many of them stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop Biden’s presidency from being certified, the former president seemed to indicate that was a possibility.

“There’s a level of passion I’ve never seen and there’s a level of hatred I’ve never seen and that’s probably a bad combination,” he said.

According to Carlson, Trump’s camp approached him about doing the interview after the former president decided not to participate in the Republican party debate in Milwaukee, Wis., beginning at 9 p.m. ET. Carlson posted his performance with Trump minutes before that start time..

Carlson and Trump became the toast of Fox News in November 2016 when Carlson was given a primetime program and Trump was elected president. Both men used the platform to reach large audiences until Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, causing Trump and his surrogates to run to Fox News with disinformation about the electoral process.

One of those lies about voting machines — promoted by Fox News hosts including Carlson — forced the cable outlet to settle a $787.5 million lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems in April.

The network sacked Carlson almost immediately after coming to terms with the election technologies company. He responded by taking his act to Twitter.

Throughout his presidency, Trump spat at Fox News when he felt the network’s coverage wasn’t sufficiently deferential. However, he continued appearing regularly until the channel reported Biden won the contest.

“They forgot what made them successful,” Trump complained days after the votes were counted. “They forgot the Golden Goose.”

Fox News lobbied Trump to join Wednesday’s debate, but he opted to join forces with Carlson, who Fox News has hinted at suing over his foray into social media programming.

While Carlson champions Trump publicly, text messages unearthed during the Dominion lawsuit indicate the former primetime host isn’t a fan.

“We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights,” Carlson texted associates two days before Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in 2021.

Carlson also texted “I hate him passionately” in a message warning colleagues Trump could destroy Fox News “if we play it wrong.”

Trump’s closest competitor for the 2024 GOP nomination is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who trailed him by 46 points in a recent CBS News poll.

In August, DeSantis infamously launched his struggling campaign on Twitter, where his message was overwhelmed by embarrassing technical issues.

“I know Ron,” Trump gloated in response to DeSantis’ social media debacle. “The way he handled his announcement, he will handle the country!”

Trump plans to surrender to authorities in Georgia on Thursday, where he’s charged with heading a criminal conspiracy that aimed to keep him in office after his 2020 loss.