Notoriously anti-LGBTQ+ media personality Tucker Carlson seems to have had enough of the debate over trans athletes.
While the former Fox News host still affirmed his anti-trans views, he acknowledged the validity of a common liberal argument regarding the right’s obsession with trans women in sports: Why does everyone care so much?
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In a speech for the right-wing organization Turning Point USA, Carlson called the crusade against trans athletes “appetizers” when compared to the actual issues he feels his party should address.
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“It kind of feels like you’re feeding me appetizers,” he told the audience. “At some point, I want to look around and see a better country. I want to see a country I recognize. I don’t want to see people sleeping on the sidewalk. I don’t want to see people OD’ing on drugs. I want to know, where are those drugs coming from?”
He added, “You’re lecturing me about how it’s a great moral victory that I kicked the boys off the girls soccer team? Good. I’m so glad. But let’s do the real stuff like making New York livable, and creating an economy where my kids can have kids.”
Carlson’s point has long been echoed by trans advocates and the Democratic party, who have tried to express that no matter where one stands on the issue, the GOP’s focus on it is completely misguided, considering there are many more pressing matters that are actually affecting American lives.
Despite the moment of clarity, Carlson still disparaged trans women in his speech, misgendering them throughout and using an anti-trans slur.
“You spend all day telling me that it’s so important that boys not play on girls soccer teams or whatever,” Carlson said. “I agree. I hate the tr**ny stuff. Passionately. I think you should keep the boys off of girls soccer teams.”
Tucker hits conservatives for taking fake victory laps: "You spend all day telling me that it's so important that boys not play on girls soccer teams or whatever. I agree. But I don't know, it kind feels like you're feeding me appetizers. At some point, I want to look around and… pic.twitter.com/zSOGKcLnO1
— Logan Hall (@loganclarkhall) July 12, 2025
Despite campaigning for Donald Trump, Carlson has emerged as a vocal critic of the president’s agenda. He slammed his decision to bomb Iran and has more recently criticized his administration’s refusal to release the Jeffrey Epstein files.
“The fact that the U.S. government, the one that I voted for, refused to take my question seriously and instead said, ‘Case closed, shut up conspiracy theorist,’ was too much for me,” Carlson also said during his Turning Point USA speech. “And I don’t think the rest of us should be satisfied with that.”
The administration’s handling of the Epstein issue has caused many in the MAGA universe to turn on Trump.
Fox News fired Carlson in 2023 after the discovery of a trove of racist emails. He built his entire career on bigotry, spending his time on Fox News hurling slurs and spreading lies about marginalized groups.
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