Tucker Carlson’s son is joining J.D. Vance’s team in the Office of the Vice President.
Buckley Carlson, 28, has been hired as Vance’s deputy press secretary, sources confirmed to ABC News on Monday, Jan. 27.
The former Fox News personality’s only son has worked on Capitol Hill since 2019 — as a staff assistant, communications director, and deputy chief of staff to Indiana Republican Jim Banks.
In 2022, Republican Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota allegedly accused Buckley of securing his Capitol Hill roles due to nepotism.
At the time, the Daily Beast reported that an “anonymous GOP strategist” said of Banks, “Deep down, he dies to be liked by the Establishment. He hires Tucker Carlson’s son, a 24-year-old kid, to be his communications director.”
Axios then reported that Tucker, on a private phone call, berated Emmer for the statement. Donald Trump Jr. and Marjorie Taylor Greenereportedly came to Tucker’s aid and defended Buckley from the claim.
Tucker Carlson, Donald Trump, J.D. Vance and Mike Johnson.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty
Buckley’s father, Tucker, is a far-right media personality and has long been at the center of a number of controversies.
Tucker has received repeated backlash, often for making unsubstantiated claims. In 2018, he suggested that immigrants make the United States “poorer and dirtier.” In 2021, he was accused of spreading election misinformation in a high-profile lawsuit against Fox News. In 2023, he said the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol was “mostly peaceful chaos.”
Tucker abruptly left Fox News in April 2023 amid tension with the network.
Just hours after ABC confirmed Buckley’s new role, Tucker once again made headlines.
Politico reported that the former Fox News personality claimed, without evidence, that former President Joe Biden’s administration tried to kill Russian President Vladimir Putin.
