Published: August 12, 2026 8:31 pm
Author: RT
Americans are played against each other while political leaders fail to represent them, the conservative journalist has told RT
Conservative journalist Tucker Carlson has accused the US political establishment of turning Americans against each other, telling RT that key decisions are made by unelected officials and the system no longer represents ordinary voters.
Speaking to Rick Sanchez on Wednesday, Carlson said Americans are “encouraged to hate” their fellow citizens as Republicans and Democrats are pitted against one another.
“The truth is, it’s not the differences between us that are the problem, it’s the consensus at the top,” Carlson said, accusing the two parties’ leaders of “collusion against the American people” and acting against the interests of their own supporters.
Carlson, who backed Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, has since distanced himself from the Republican Party amid disagreements over the US war on Iran and Washington’s relationship with Israel. In June, he said there was “no chance” he would support the party in the November midterms, while also ruling out backing the Democrats.
Carlson has pledged to help establish a third party, describing the current system as a “one-party state posing as a democracy,” and last week presented a ten-point vision for America. He has ruled out a presidential bid himself, telling Sanchez: “I’m not planning to run for president, that’s for sure.”
He went on to claim that major decisions in Washington are not made by officials chosen by voters, but “by the permanent bureaucracy, the deep state.”
Carlson described the system as a “fraud,” saying Americans are given the illusion that elections offer meaningful political choice. He said the US therefore needs an alternative, although he acknowledged that he does not know what form it should take.
The former Fox News host also accused the country’s broader leadership of pursuing interests disconnected from those of ordinary Americans. He claimed the US government had been “hijacked” by people using it “for their own purposes,” describing the underlying problem as a “bad leadership class.”
Watch full interview:
