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<\/a><\/p>\nVice President JD Vance speaks during a news briefing in the White House, Sept. 3, 2026 Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cEverybody knows that Tucker Carlson and I are friends, and I think it\u2019s very obvious that Tucker has said some things that I disagree with,\u201d Vance said. <\/p>\n
He pointed to Carlson\u2019s criticisms of Vance\u2019s boss, President Donald Trump, as well as Carlson\u2019s suggestion that he would rather Democratic progressive Abdul El-Sayed win Michigan\u2019s U.S. Senate seat than Republican Mike Rogers, as examples of where they disagree.<\/p>\n
\u201cTucker is a friend despite the fact that we disagree on a number of things. And I\u2019m not going to play the game where I throw friends under the bus because I have political disagreements with them,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n
Vance\u2019s refusal to disavow Carlson comes days after he appeared in a closed-doors session in Las Vegas before hundreds of Republican Jewish Coalition members, some of whom have indicated that they would prefer Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Vance as Trump\u2019s successor in 2028. <\/p>\n
His RJC appearance started and ended with standing ovations for the vice president, and he spoke about the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship and denounced antisemitism during the 35-minute conversation. He angered a number of attendees and Jewish conservatives, however, when he sidestepped a question about Carlson and other controversial right-wing podcasters.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, a reporter asked Vance about \u201cthose who are uneasy\u201d with his close relationship to Carlson and believe that he is avoiding addressing questions about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not avoiding anything,\u201d Vance countered.<\/p>\n
After declining to distance himself from Carlson, Vance said that his refusal to do so should be a model for how other Americans engage in discourse across lines of disagreement. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have a disagreement with someone politically \u2014 even over a deeply held issue \u2014 you should still be friends with that person, because the whole republic depends on people of different perspectives being able to talk to one another,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n