Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson has claimed that President Donald Trump privately believes California Governor Gavin Newsom is the Democrat most capable of succeeding him in the White House after the 2028 election.
Speaking during an appearance on Alex Jones Live on Tuesday, Carlson said Trump views Newsom as a formidable political opponent despite the governor's frequent public attacks on the administration.
"I know Trump is very convinced that Gavin has a shot," Carlson said.
Newsom has not formally announced a presidential campaign, but he is widely regarded as a likely contender for the Democratic nomination should he decide to enter the race.
Carlson harshly criticizes Newsom
While acknowledging Newsom's political skills, Carlson offered a scathing assessment of the California governor's character.
According to Carlson, Newsom's greatest strength is his ability to communicate persuasively regardless of the circumstances.
"He's a sociopath who will say anything while passing a lie detector test," Carlson suggested.
Alex Jones agreed that Newsom's communication abilities could make him a stronger candidate than former Vice President Kamala Harris.
"And he can talk, unlike Kamala!" Jones responded.
Potential 2028 matchups taking shape
Should Newsom secure the Democratic nomination, he could face a Republican candidate such as Vice President JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
President Trump would be constitutionally barred from seeking another term in 2028, despite occasionally joking about the possibility of remaining in office beyond his current presidency.
Concerns about America's leadership class
Carlson used the discussion to broaden his criticism beyond individual politicians, arguing that the United States is failing to produce capable leaders.
"The core problem that this country faces is not that it has elites, every country does—it needs them, by the way, somebody needs to run things," Carlson said.
He continued by criticizing what he described as a system that rewards conformity over talent and innovation.
"The system we have in place to produce elites instead produces mediocre conformists, wholly lacking in creativity, terrified, weird, easy to control... stagnant."
Carlson warned that civilizations decline when they can no longer generate competent leadership.
"When a system fails to produce a leadership class capable of running this huge thing that the ancestors built then it collapses and so we need to fix that, like immediately."
Carlson rejects presidential run
During the interview, Jones also asked Carlson whether he had any ambitions to seek the presidency himself.
Carlson dismissed the idea.
"I don't want to run for president," he said. "I do want to be involved in offering an option of some kind."
The comments are likely to fuel speculation about Carlson's future political role, particularly as he continues to distance himself from both major political parties.
Fallout with Trump deepens
Carlson played a highly visible role during the 2024 presidential campaign, endorsing Trump and appearing at several campaign rallies.
However, the relationship has deteriorated significantly in recent months, particularly over disagreements surrounding US policy toward Iran.
Carlson has since expressed regret over some of his previous support for Trump.
Trump, meanwhile, has publicly criticized Carlson, calling him a "low IQ person" and claiming that Carlson has "lost his way" and is "not MAGA."
Breaking with Republican party
Earlier this week, Carlson announced that he no longer supports the Republican Party, accusing its leaders of placing special interests ahead of American voters.
"I would not support the Republican Party," Carlson said. "There's no chance I would support the Republican Party."
He added that he has no intention of joining the Democrats either.
“I'm not going to support the Democratic Party—I don't know what I'm going to do.”
