Tucker Carlson defends Andrew Tate as “really smart” and “not a malicious spirit at all”
Published
Citation From the March 10, 2023, edition of the Full Send Podcast, via YouTube
AARON STEINBERG (CO-HOST): Going off the masculinity thing, you recently talked about how Andrew Tate is — it was a setup?
TUCKER CARLSON (FOX NEWS HOST): Oh, you think?
STEINBERG: No, I just want to hear what you — I think so too, but I want to hear your whole synopsis on it.
CARLSON: At some point — so Andrew Tate, who I’m not, you know, an intimate friend of or anything, I’ve talked to him —
KYLE FORGEARD (HOST): You had him on the show, right?
CARLSON: I had him on the show, yeah, for like 40 minutes, and then I’ve talked to him just personal, offline, once or twice, twice. First of all, he’s really smart. That’s completely real.
FORGEARD: A hundred percent.
CARLSON: Hundred percent. And I’m almost 54, so I’m really old. So there are parts of what he says that are like so far out of my world or context or experience that like — as you get older, you’re like I’m not exactly sure what this means.
FORGEARD: Like OnlyFans and shit, right?
CARLSON: Right, I was like what? You know, that whole — there’s a lot. I will say it, I’m just being honest, that there’s some that I miss about Andrew Tate, but the spirit that animates Andrew Tate is very clear and very obvious and it’s not a malicious spirit at all. Andrew Tate’s core message is respect yourself. Act like you’re worth something. Achieve something. Do something. Get the fuck off the couch. Put down the porn. Like go do something with your life. You’re given this amazing thing — your life — and what are you going to do with it?
And I feel like that’s the greatest message that anyone could give. And I mean that’s how I read Andrew Tate’s message. So of course, it just tells you everything about the people in charge that that’s threatening. How is that threatening?
STEINBERG: Yeah.
CARLSON: That self-improvement that you may not agree with or understand some things that Tate says, which is where I am — like what? But that’s not the point. The point is what is he — underneath it all, what is he saying? He’s saying respect yourself. You are worthy of respect. Live in a way where others will respect you. That is the most needed message anyone can hear. So of course, they have to figure out a way — why would they want to? Tells you everything about the —
So I'll say: The most interesting thing about Andrew Tate is not Andrew Tate, it’s the reaction to Andrew Tate. Why is that bad? I have a son. If someone told my son respect yourself, be worthy of respect, get up early, exercise, achieve something, I’d be like thank you. That’s the message that I give my son anyway because I’m a father.
So the interesting thing about Tate is that is considered threatening. Why would that be threatening? Because you don't want an independent, self-respecting population in your country, that's why.