Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host turned independent media figure, has floated the idea of forming a new political party as his once-strong alliance with President Donald Trump continues to fracture. In an interview released Wednesday by the Columbia Journalism Review, Carlson stated unequivocally that he intends to “help build a third party,” arguing that the current two-party system has failed the American people.

“If you make sixty thousand dollars a year, you’re degraded,” Carlson said in the interview. “No one seems to care. It’s not even a factor.” He emphasized that he does not wish to be a candidate for this new party, but he believes a third force is necessary to break what he calls a “one-party state posing as a democracy.”

Carlson’s break with Trump has been escalating for months. In April 2025, he publicly apologized to his podcast audience for what he described as “misleading people” about Trump. Joined by his brother Buckley Carlson, a former Trump speechwriter, Tucker said: “We were implicated in this for sure. We’ll be tormented by it for a long time. I will be, and I want to say I’m sorry.”

Erosion of the MAGA Coalition

Carlson is not alone in his disillusionment with the Republican Party and Trump’s leadership. Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO and Trump’s largest donor in the 2024 election, announced earlier this year that he had “formed” a new political party titled the “America Party.” Musk’s America PAC spent nearly $200 million to help elect Trump, but their relationship soured after Trump launched a war with Iran — a move Carlson and others see as a betrayal of the “America First” agenda.

Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, another onetime Trump ally, also expressed support for a third party. In an interview with Piers Morgan Uncensored on Tuesday, Greene said she was “in talks with people” and that “serious conversations” were underway. She acknowledged the difficulty of launching a third party, noting, “It’s not something that gets off the ground in just a couple of campaign cycles.” Greene publicly split from Trump in 2025, declaring she could no longer support the GOP.

Historical Context of Third Parties in the U.S.

Third parties have a long but largely unsuccessful history in American politics. The last major third-party candidate to win electoral votes was George Wallace in 1968, who carried five Southern states as a member of the American Independent Party. Ross Perot won 19% of the popular vote in 1992 but failed to secure any electoral votes. More recently, the Libertarian and Green parties have fielded candidates but never gained significant traction.

The structural barriers are formidable. The U.S. electoral system, with its winner-take-all rules, makes it nearly impossible for third parties to compete. Ballot access laws vary by state and require tens of thousands of signatures. Debates are controlled by the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, which sets a 15% polling threshold. Without major media coverage or institutional support, third-party candidates struggle to reach voters.

Carlson’s proposal, however, comes at a moment of deep discontent with both major parties. Polling from Gallup in 2024 found that 63% of Americans believe a third major party is needed. The same survey showed that only 29% of respondents identified as Republicans and 28% as Democrats, with the rest independent or unaffiliated.

What Would a Carlson Party Look Like?

Carlson has not provided a detailed platform, but his public commentary suggests a mix of populist economics, anti-war foreign policy, and cultural conservatism. He has railed against corporate elites, immigration, and woke ideology, while also criticizing U.S. interventionism abroad. In the Columbia Journalism Review interview, he argued that Democrats and Republicans are “indistinguishable” on key issues like trade, spending, and war.

“That’s a one-party state posing as a democracy, and it needs to be broken,” Carlson said. “There’s going to be a third party, and I’m going to do everything I can to bring that about.”

His remarks echo those of Musk, who said the America Party would focus on “common sense, merit, and freedom.” Greene, meanwhile, called for a “true America-focused party that doesn't fall into the traps of Democrats and Republicans.”

Both Carlson and Greene have extensive media platforms. Carlson’s podcast, The Tucker Carlson Show, reaches millions of viewers weekly on X (formerly Twitter) and other platforms. Greene remains a household name among conservative voters, with a large social media following. Musk, as the world’s richest person, commands enormous attention and resources. Together, they could theoretically mount a serious challenge to the two-party system.

Challenges Ahead

Despite the high-profile support, the path to a viable third party is steep. Campaign fundraising requires not only large donors but also grassroots networks. The major parties have built sophisticated GOTV operations and databases over decades. A new party would need to start from scratch, recruiting candidates for thousands of local, state, and federal offices.

Moreover, internal divisions among disaffected Republicans could splinter any third-party effort. Some Trump loyalists may reject Carlson and Greene as turncoats. Others may fear that a third party would hand victories to Democrats by splitting the conservative vote. In 2016, Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson received 3.3% of the popular vote, which might have cost Trump the election if it had been higher in key swing states.

Carlson acknowledged these difficulties but remained defiant. “There should be a good-faith effort to figure out what benefits the country,” he said. “We owe that to our children.”

Impact on the Republican Party

The defection of high-profile conservatives like Carlson, Musk, and Greene is a blow to the GOP, which already faces an identity crisis after Trump’s controversial presidency. The Republican National Committee announced this week that it will hold a convention in Dallas in September to rally voters ahead of the 2026 midterms. But with internal fractures, party unity may prove elusive.

At the same time, the Democratic Party is grappling with its own turmoil, as progressive candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America have won recent races in New York and Colorado. The two-party system, long a bedrock of American democracy, appears more fragile than at any point in recent memory.

Whether Carlson’s third party idea becomes reality remains uncertain. But the conversation alone signals a profound shift in the political landscape, one that could reshape the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election. For now, Carlson, Musk, and Greene are sowing the seeds of a movement that may take years — or even decades — to bear fruit.

Source: MSN News