A liberal reporter figured he had private-messaged his way into securing what he later termed an "earth-shaking scoop." Tucker Carlson, the subject of the potential exclusive, was happy to indulge the reporter's fantasy, but only for a moment.
Mattathias Schwartz, a New York-based senior correspondent at Insider, reached out to the former Fox News host Tuesday night, asking, "Are you going to run for president?"
Carlson, who has previously been prompted to run and asked about running, responded, "Yes. Announcing Friday in New Hampshire."
Given Carlson's popularity and the unpopularity of some of the major candidates now fielded, this news could have been seismic.
"Can I call you?" Schwartz eagerly replied. "I would like to be the first with this."
When Carlson did not answer, Schwartz continued excitedly: "But I can't stand it up with one text."
"Let me know. A voice call would be helpful," Schwartz added.
Rather than leave Schwartz hanging, Carlson texted, "Totally kidding. Sorry."
Schwartz admitted in turn, "You got me."
"I can never control myself," wrote Carlson.
Carlson noted that extra to not being a prospective presidential candidate, he's "fundamentally a dick. My apologies."
\u201cSome late-night texts with @TuckerCarlson, wherein he says he is indeed running for president, then says he is just kidding about that, then says he is "fundamentally a dick." Story here... https://t.co/OukLuulbGQ\u201d— Mattathias Schwartz (@Mattathias Schwartz) 1683748389
The liberal reporter later claimed on Twitter, "Just based on the transcript above, I think that his hope was that we would go with it and hit print based on the one text. But I don't know that."
While from the texts alone it's unclear whether Schwartz took the joke well, his subsequent write-up indicates he likely didn't.
Schwartz smeared Carlson as a "white nationalist," an "incendiary monologist," and an "asshole" in his article about the exchange for Insider, which reads as though it were cannibalized from a hit piece originally intended to have a giant election-related scoop at its center.
The liberal reporter accused Carlson of incubating "the Trump movement's conspiracy theories and insatiable sense of outrage" and focusing "the embittered and racialized nationalism that propelled Donald Trump into the White House."
After indicating that 34% of Tucker Carlson's audience is nonwhite and highlighting the former Fox News host's criticisms of U.S. support for Ukraine and illegal immigration, Schwartz defended his earlier suspicion that Carlson might run for higher officer.
"Speculation about a possible GOP primary run has followed Carlson for years. One poll found that 59 percent of Americans have a favorable view of Carlson, higher than Fox News," he wrote.
Politico took part in such speculation in late April, detailing the "keys to a hypothetical Tucker Carlson 2024 campaign."
Dave Kochel, a veteran Iowa Republican strategist, told the liberal outlet, "He had three and a half million viewers. … Obviously, his show was a bigger cultural phenomenon than just that. He’s well known to 20 million people, probably, but all of them are political watchers. I guess anything is possible. And we live in the stupidest timeline ever. I just don’t see it happening."
Dave Carney, a New Hampshire GOP strategist, told Politico, "I don’t think he would have any fear of going right after Trump and inheriting some of that support and peeling it off. Every vote he gets will be out of Trump’s hide and really impact the race dramatically."
Ed Kilgore of New York magazine recently suggested that it "would be foolish to rule out Carlson as presidential timber," but suggested that 2024 isn't his time.
Back in 2021, Grant Reeher, a political science professor at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, told the National Interest, "Carlson has been keen to focus on the supposed failings and absurdities of Democratic elites, and that puts him in as good a position as any to inherit his supporters — those for whom Trump, as an individual candidate and office-holder, carried some extra appeal beyond the standard Republican brand."
Leonie Huddy, a political science professor at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, agreed, saying, "Carlson is a real contender for the Republican nomination."
Newsweek recently reported that the British betting firm Betfair was offering odds of 80-1 on Carlson winning the 2024 presidential election outright, 50-1 odds on him becoming the GOP candidate, and 6-1 odds on Trump naming Carlson his vice president.
Jokes and speculation aside, Carlson recently provided an insight into why he might not run while giving a keynote address at a fundraiser for adults with disabilities in Oxford, Alabama.
Carlson said, "I’m a sincere lover of the country and I want it to get better. ... How do you, all of us, in our small, incremental ways, make it better?"
An audience member shouted out in reply, "Run for president!"
The audience cheered.
Carlson suggested, "I think if you run for president, they will assassinate your character."
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Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy vehemently denied allegations recently published in Business Insider of him having sex with women that "turned violent and humiliating." Portnoy claimed that the Business Insider article is a "hit piece" that framed him as a "rapist," "sexual monster," and "deviant."
The article written by reporter Julia Black – which was eight months in the making and is behind the site's paywall – claimed that three women allegedly had sex with Portnoy which "turned into frightening and humiliating experiences that have taken a toll on their mental health." The women – who were not named – claimed to have sex at Portnoy's home in Nantucket. One woman claims she was "literally screaming in pain," and another said she became so depressed after the encounter that her mother notified the police.
Portnoy acknowledges having sex with the women, but passionately declares that all the encounters were consensual during the live press conference on Thursday afternoon. Portnoy shared alleged screen captures of text messages and social media postings that he claims exonerate him of the accusations of nonconsensual sexual encounters. "They're just sloppy," he said of Business Insider.
A 22-year-old woman we will refer to as "Olivia" told Business Insider that her friends were attempting to get Portnoy's attention by direct messaging him, but he "wasn't giving them the time of day." Olivia allegedly encouraged her 19-year-old sister "Allison" to contact Portnoy, who then "completely took the bait."
Portnoy and the young woman allegedly had sex, which purportedly included choking. Allison told the outlet that she felt "very preyed upon." Her memories of the experience are "fuzzy because of her emotional distress surrounding the event." Allison did not classify the situation as sexual assault, but was "deeply disturbed."
Portnoy released text messages that he claims are between him and the woman at the time of the incident. He initially declined her offer to meet up at the Cisco Brewery in Nantucket, according to the alleged messages. The next day, she allegedly asks him to have sex via text message, and he agrees.
According to screenshots of the alleged communication, the woman claimed that she was going to brag to her friends about the sexual encounter with Portnoy. The Barstool Sports founder claimed that he stopped speaking to the woman on Aug. 2.
The alleged victim – who was said to have depression – was reportedly hospitalized a few days after the incident.
Allison's mother said her daughter "basically couldn't talk the next day." The mother called Nantucket police to "pursue some sort of legal action against Portnoy." Her daughter was against contacting the authorities.
The mother filed a police report on Aug. 10, where the mother allegedly told law enforcement: "She heard David always asks girls if they are at least 18-years-old and willing to have sexual intercourse with him."
The mother claimed on the police report that her daughter has "no memory of going to David Portnoy's house."
The police noted that they told the mother, "We haven't had any complaints from any other 18-year-olds about David Portnoy."
Portnoy discussed further allegations detailed in the article from another woman named "Madison." Portnoy said the situation is a "he said/she said" ordeal. In a video posted last week, he claimed that the two had a "disagreement on life."
Now, after we hooked up we were hanging out more and it just became one of those situations where we just disagreed on just about everything from you know, is it raining or sunny out? It was oil and vinegar, just two people who did not see the world the same way and that is why she slept on the couch. I do believe, my recollection is she was still interested in hooking up and I was like this just isn't working. We don't get along. Flew back, I never talked to her again, I never knew she had any issue. It's the first I heard of it and quite frankly was stunned to read and hear about it. I'm obviously not going to say her name. I don't want her harassed. If what she's telling that she didn't enjoy the experience is true, I had no idea and that's horrible and I never want to feel that way but if there was a hidden camera in that room and it wasn't a he said/she said and someone saw the interaction there would be absolutely nothing there. I promise you.
The woman seems to have despised former President Donald Trump, according to certain social media posts. The Barstool Sports founder claims that they had sex three days before Portnoy's interview with Trump, which he surmises may have set her off.
In the hour-long "emergency press conference" video, Portnoy said that he does not want to identify the women who made the allegations against him.
Portnoy noted that Business Insider only spoke with one woman who gave her real name. Portnoy admits that he messaged the woman – Ava Louise – in 2017.
Louise told Business Insider that she willingly messaged him back, "I probably would have let Dave Portnoy do whatever the hell he wanted to me."
Louise was featured in a different Business Insider article from 2020 titled: "The influencer who licked a toilet seat for the 'coronavirus challenge' is finding TikTok fame for music she recorded while concussed."
Louise appeared on the "Dr. Phil" TV show in 2020, where she talked about "clout chasing."
[Other influencers] make their career off clout chasing. They make their career off scandal. When there's a problem in their lives, they put it on the internet because they know people will eat that up. And why can't I?" she asked. "All of a sudden I'm the clout chaser because I have 140,000 followers. But if I had 2 million, would I be a clout chaser, or would I just be another influencer who got herself in some drama?
Portnoy highlighted Business Insider correspondents targeted companies that advertise with Barstool Sports Business, asking if they will continue to advertise with the massively popular sports blog following the accusations against the site's founder.
And just to be clear Patrick sent this to everybody and is going to publish who says and who goes. It\u2019s scare tactics. Write a malicious story with fake facts. Put behind paywall. Write more stories. Threaten advertisers. Business Insider 101. https://twitter.com/stoolpresidente/status/1456971145954144256\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/DzkBmb5arT
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) 1636204333
"Not one person from Business Insider has had the guts, the balls, whatever you want to call it, to speak to me," he asserted. "They won't talk. They accused me of rape and ran away."
When talking about the possibility of suing Business Insider, Portnoy said he wants his "pound of flesh."
"Yeah, I want to sue them," Portnoy said, but added that his lawyers give the case little to no chance of being successful.
Lawyers told him that a "famous person cannot win this case."
"I'm still debating doing this, just to drag them through it," he said. "I still may do it just to see them eye-to-eye and be in that courtroom, and this is way more important than money."
"If I lose, I pay their legal fees," he revealed. "If they think I'm done because of that, they don't know the first thing about me."
Portnoy says Business Insider CEO Henry Blodget is now his "arch-enemy."
Meet the CEO of Business Insiderhttps://twitter.com/mdsmaldon/status/1456390155661717504\u00a0\u2026
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) 1636065637
Portnoy said, "This is just the beginning."
"I got accused of rape, it's arguably the most horrific thing you can be accused of with zero point zero evidence, and they f***ing knew it," Portnoy concluded.
Following the video conference on the allegations, Portnoy urged people to cancel Business Insider and tweeted, "Will @BusinessInsider include any of the facts I just dropped on their head?"
(CAUTION: Explicit language)
Dave Portnoy Exposes Business Insider Hit Piece www.youtube.com
What we used to call our 'mainstream' media now exist to further the agendas -- and often, the personal vanities -- of a very particular political set.
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Former White House aide and Jan. 6 witness Cassidy Hutchinson continued to work for former President Donald Trump nine weeks after he left office.
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