Tucker Carlson interviews Trump social media advisor Alex Bruesewitz on foreign influence, the Iran deal, Epstein, and the Charlie Kirk investigation
Tucker Carlson speaks with Alex Bruesewitz, described as Trump's social media advisor, about coordinated influence campaigns around the Iran ceasefire deal, foreign money in the American media ecosystem, the Brad Parscale–Israel FARA contract, the Epstein files, and the investigation into Charlie Kirk's murder.
Summary
Tucker Carlson sits down with Alex Bruesewitz, Trump's social media advisor, for a wide-ranging conversation about foreign influence operations targeting American political discourse. Bruesewitz alleges that the campaign attacking President Trump and Vice President Vance over the Iran ceasefire deal is coordinated and potentially funded by foreign actors, and reveals that he personally received a message in June 2025 from an Israeli foundation seeking to hire him to run a pro-Iran-war social media campaign in the United States — an offer he declined. He then details a FARA filing showing that former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale is being paid up to $46 million by the Israeli government, with the contract explicitly stating that messaging will be integrated into Salem Media Network properties. The conversation also covers the Epstein files, where Bruesewitz defends Trump's record while calling for more accountability from the Justice Department; a substantive and extended discussion of anti-white discrimination versus the administration's prioritization of anti-semitism, touching on Ivy League admissions, federal contracting, and the civil rights division; Marjorie Taylor Greene's pivot away from Trump and her frustrations with Congress; the Republican Senate's failure to pass voter ID legislation; and a broader discussion of the state of the MAGA movement and Latin America policy.
Key Takeaways
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Opening: Coordinated pressure campaign around the Iran ceasefire deal
Tucker Carlson: Alex Bruesewitz, thank you for doing this. So here's my perception — the overview. We're in this war. Obviously I disapprove. Whatever. I've said that many times. Then the president decides we're getting out and the vice president articulates how and why. And then all of a sudden there is this flurry of attacks on the president, but mostly on the vice president, from people who don't have an alternative plan but are basically just calling the vice president names and the president names. It seemed to me as an outsider — less fluent in the internet than you are — that this is coordinated. Like, what is this? What are we looking at?
Alex Bruesewitz: I couldn't be more supportive of the ceasefire. I was thrilled by that. Thank God. And I believe there definitely is a coordinated effort to put pressure on the president and the administration to continue the conflict in Iran. I believe there is potentially even foreign influence involved — and not just from one country. You're seeing a lot of these voices move as a pack. They talk about a lot of the similar issues. They oftentimes run similar paid media campaigns around other related topics. And there's also evidence of millions and millions of dollars flowing to certain right-wing influencer marketing companies from countries who might benefit from a prolonged conflict.
Similarly, right after the ceasefire was about to be announced, a lot of the anti-war voices were also spreading misinformation about the deal. They were pushing a line about how United States taxpayers were somehow going to give $300 billion to Iran. And I look at people like Thomas Massie, who has been on this program — he was very quick to share a statement saying that this ceasefire is terrible because we're going to give $300 billion to Iran, which is not true. It never was true. It's money that can be unlocked over time. Not a single dollar will come from American taxpayers. But people like Massie were also spreading misinformation. So I think there's a lot of coordinated misinformation being spread from the pro-war side and also from some anti-war critics as well.
Tucker Carlson: Interesting. Can I just get your take on something before we proceed into the details? You're alleging things that seem true to me, but I want to know why you think them. But first, to the question of the people criticizing the ceasefire — I see plenty of ways to criticize it, but all of that criticism needs to be viewed in context of what the alternatives might be. Okay, maybe you don't like the deal, but then what? Did any of the people in this campaign you're describing offer an alternative? Like, we continue this war and then what happens?
Alex Bruesewitz: No, there's been no alternatives offered. It's just straight criticism. It's keyboard warriors. That's what we deal with. Fortunately, their opinions have very little impact on the electorate, the populace. We've seen polling from the Daily Mail, Fabrizio Lee, McLaughlin — all these different polls that show Donald Trumps is widely popular with the American people. 67% of Americans who have been polled on the framework of a settlement deal with Iran — the 14 points that have been everywhere — are supportive of the Trump–Vance agreement. But if you look at social media, you'd think nobody's in favor of it, because of coordinated influence campaigns from unique actors and foreign parties.
Tucker Carlson: It makes you think — maybe there are other issues where our view is totally distorted because our view comes from social media.
Alex Bruesewitz: Definitely. And a lot of press rooms get their stories from social media. Producers get what topics they're going to discuss in their shows from social media, because they think that is what people are talking about. And some people are talking about it, but in the grand scheme of things, a very small percentage of people are actually talking about or caring about these issues. I think it's very healthy and important for Americans to start pulling back from believing everything they read on social media and start questioning a lot of the people they're getting information from — on all sides of issues. There's a lot of influence and a lot of money from special interest groups and foreign countries that have poured into the internet ecosystem. I don't think it's been healthy for our democracy or our country. I've actually been working with Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna and some other friends in government to maybe strengthen some disclosure laws. There's a lot of influence operations that happen on social media.
If we just continue talking about the war in the Middle East, for example, there's an information operation on the pro-Israel side and there's an information operation on the anti-Israel side.
Tucker Carlson: Who's getting paid to be anti-Israel? I've been very critical of Israel. I've never taken a dollar from anybody. We have no investors and no debt. I've never taken any money and I would never take money to give an opinion.
Alex Bruesewitz: I'm not going to accuse anybody of taking money. That's not my position. But I am an expert on social media. Early on in my career, I started my company to help conservatives communicate better on social media. I would identify conservatives I wanted to work with and help them grow their social media presence, oftentimes using other people's platforms for amplification. Some of the members of Congress I've worked with in the past — Marjorie Taylor Greene, for example. I started working with Marjorie Taylor Greene when she had 2,000 Twitter followers. By the time she won her election and entered Congress in January of 2021, she had over 800,000 Twitter followers. In probably a nine-month period, we took her from a no-name candidate to one of the most followed Republican congresswomen in America.
Marjorie Taylor Greene and the mechanics of social media growth
Tucker Carlson: I must admit I'm slightly disappointed with Marjorie's recent pivot. I think she felt slightly burned that people didn't support her ambitions for higher office. She says that's not the case. But she went from being the president's number one defender for six years — as long as I've known her. She only wanted to run for Congress to get Trump's endorsement, to be Trump's number one fan, number one cheerleader. She loved Trump.
Alex Bruesewitz: She loved Trump. And so I think she was a little bit slighted by the president and the team not supporting her for governor, senator, vice president, or some other ambitions she had. I also personally think she got bored of Congress. She went in with tremendous excitement. She wanted to go there and make a difference, help Donald Trumps build the wall, deport illegal aliens, end foreign aid, do all these things. And I think she got to Washington and realized a lot of those things are almost impossible. You realize you're one of 435 people. You see a congressman on Fox News talking a tough game — I can write this letter, I can hold this person accountable — but you realize the congressman doesn't actually have any authority. So I think she went there with a different understanding of how much power she could actually have, realized it was a system that was very difficult to change, got burned out, and is now back to being a commentator.
Tucker Carlson: There's probably a lot to that. I think it's obviously true that she was frustrated as hell by Congress because it's frustrating as hell. I don't think she liked the leadership at all. She said that while she was there. She loved Trump — there's no doubt about that. They also had substantive, not fake, but substantive policy disagreements that are just real. There's no way around that — on the war, on Epstein. Those are real things. And I think you can make a case for everyone's individual perspective. But I also think it's fair to say we just disagree.
Alex Bruesewitz: They do disagree. But you asked me how we took Marjorie from 2,800 followers — how does the process work?
Tucker Carlson: Well, how does the process work? Not just Marjorie, but like how does the process work?
Alex Bruesewitz: With Marjorie, for example, she pushed the limits. The most viral ad we did for her that campaign cycle — she was standing on her front porch in Georgia right after the Antifa riots broke out in the summer of 2020. Marjorie, early forties, little blonde woman standing on her porch with a gun, and she says, "My message to Antifa terrorists: stay the hell out of Northwest Georgia." And she loads the gun. That was filmed on a cell phone. We might have spent ten minutes producing the whole thing. That video went bonkers — tens of millions of views. And then, in the pre-Elon era of Twitter, Twitter banned the video for promoting violence. Facebook banned it. But then Fox, to their credit, showed the censorship that was happening to Marjorie on the social media platforms. So she was on Fox and Friends the next morning, on prime time Fox later that day. She got her accounts back and gained like 300,000 followers off of one moment.
And then a lot of right-wing accounts started defending her — go follow Marjorie Taylor Greene, go support Marjorie Taylor Greene. These are all MAGA people, all Donald Trumps supporters. And I think that's why so many people are frustrated by her pivot. Yes, she had policy disagreements, but I think there's a difference between having policy disagreements and making accusations. And she's not the only one. There are people accusing the president.
Tucker Carlson: I mean, I love Marjorie, and that's well known. I think she's a sincere person. I don't understand every nuance, but I do think we can understand people's motives as they explain them. And she's like, I think you should be doing this, and the administration thinks they should be doing that. And that's fair.
Alex Bruesewitz: Sure, I definitely agree that's fair. But then there's the extracurriculars. And it's not Marjorie specifically I'm speaking to here, but there are a lot of people who used to be Trump fans — up until nine or ten months ago — and they used the Epstein thing as the pretext for why they're no longer Trump fans. And I think that's incredibly unfair. I think the president is the only reason we have Epstein files. Trump's administration in the first term arrested Jeffrey Epstein. He put him behind bars. Yes, he died in jail. Do I think it was a suicide? I'm probably with the internet on this one.
Tucker Carlson: Definitely not.
Alex Bruesewitz: But the president arrested him. He took him off the streets so he couldn't hurt any more people. And then he campaigned in 2024 and people said, "Oh, well, Trump campaigned on the Epstein files." No, actually he didn't. He was asked by Lex Fridman — interesting character — he said, "Will you release the Epstein files?" Trump said, "Yeah, I'd be inclined to do so." And then he did it. And guys like Thomas Massie like to take the credit for the release of the Epstein files. But during four years of Joe Biden, the Biden Department of Justice was sitting on these files. How many times did Massie tweet about Epstein? Zero. Not a single time for four years of Biden.
And Massie's never liked the president. Trump endorsing against Massie in this election isn't a response to him being critical of Epstein. Trump endorsed against Massie in 2020. Trump's never liked Massie. Massie's always been a thorn in some capacity. It wasn't a response to the Epstein files. He didn't lash out at Massie because of Epstein. He's never liked Massie.
There was no cover-up. And I think people who suggest there was a cover-up are not being honest. Could you disagree with the messaging rollout, the media rollout, the attorney general's strategy around it? Absolutely. I wasn't particularly thrilled about the binders. Nobody knew what the hell the binders came from. But the president did not participate in a cover-up. In fact, he's the only reason these documents are out, and he's also exonerated by them. There are three million documents that have been released. Not a single person can point to Donald Trump doing something wrong. The people who did do something wrong, or appear to have done something wrong, are guys like Reid Hoffman. Would I like the Department of Justice to go after Reid Hoffman? Yeah, I probably would.
Tucker Carlson: How about just call him in for questioning?
Alex Bruesewitz: I would support that. Absolutely.
Tucker Carlson: I wonder why that hasn't happened.
Alex Bruesewitz: Maybe it will. But I think giving control of the government process to a handful of hysterics on social media is bad. I think it was bad for the Epstein files. I think it's bad right now for all of the hawks who are continuing to press the administration to continue the war.
Tucker Carlson: I agree with that. I would also say though that the attorney general at the time, Pam Bondi, gave an interview on Fox in which she said, "I have thousands of files on my desk that show sexual abuse of kids." She said that — that's the attorney general of the United States. And I've always liked Pam Bondi. It's not personal. But the attorney general says that and then no one gets indicted for it. You're like — you're the attorney general. You're the chief law enforcement officer of the nation. What the hell are you talking about?
Alex Bruesewitz: Should she have said thousands? Probably not. Or maybe she should have said it.
Tucker Carlson: By the way, I was glad that she said it. It wasn't that she said it — I want more disclosure. I want to know what the government is doing. That's my right as a citizen. But where's the follow-up? If you have the evidence, you told us you had the evidence — where are the arrests?
Alex Bruesewitz: It's a great question, and a lot of people are asking the same thing. But the accusation that the president was involved in a nefarious cover-up is completely ludicrous. I think people like Reid Hoffman should absolutely be brought in for questioning, and perhaps it will happen. I think Reid Hoffman is one of the worst characters in America — not just for that. He was also a financier of E. Jean Carroll, the woman who accused Donald Trumps of harassing her in the eighties or nineties. I'm pretty sure — I can't prove it — but I'm pretty sure he helped suck me into a lawsuit I had nothing to do with and tried to destroy my life. I've never met the guy. I've got nothing to do with him. I was just giving opinions he doesn't like.
The Iran war, Israeli intelligence, and Trump's decision-making
Tucker Carlson: From my perspective, it's the war. The war is what absolutely distressed me. And I've talked about it probably too much already. But when Trump basically said, "We're going to do things we don't want to do because it's in the best interest of the country — this ceasefire. No one wants the ceasefire, but it's better than the alternative." I admired that. And I immediately see these people who were like Trump's best friends, true MAGA people — like Mark Levin and the rest — like they're the true MAGA, you can't get anywhere near MAGA, you don't know what MAGA is. And all of a sudden they're like, Trump's a big hit, or JD Vance is an anti-semite. That was the most interesting thing I've ever seen.
Alex Bruesewitz: Yeah, it was certainly coordinated. Absolutely.
Tucker Carlson: So, by whom?
Alex Bruesewitz: It's a good question. There are people who certainly speculate. And look, I think Mark Levin — he's friends with the president, maybe. But Mark Levin was somebody who opposed Trump in 2016. He actually encouraged his audience in 2016 to stay home, don't vote in the general election. He was a DeSantis supporter in 2024. So he's not like this ultra-MAGA guy. And so it's a little frustrating.
Look, I've disagreed strongly with many statements that you've made recently. And so all these coordinated accounts are saying, "Alex, you call out Mark Levin, but you don't call out Tucker. Why?" And to be honest, I think that's kind of a fair point. You've criticized the president and I haven't called you out. And I haven't called you out for a couple of reasons. I know you personally, and I'd rather have a conversation with you about where I disagree in person rather than being a keyboard warrior. I don't know Mark Levin personally. So I have a philosophy in my life: if I don't know you personally, I can hit you on social media. If I do know you, I'll have a conversation to your face.
Tucker Carlson: I generally agree with that.
Alex Bruesewitz: Early on when the war started, there were predictions by some voices — including you — that striking Iran could lead to World War III. Voices like Ian Carroll, who's also been on the program, predicted that we'd put ground troops in Iran by now. Those predictions haven't materialized. And I think saying that would be important to your audience. I think there's a lot of hysterics on both sides of the issue.
Tucker Carlson: The president threatened to eliminate the civilization of Iran. So that would qualify as World War III. He threatened to put ground troops on Kharg Island and mainland Iran many, many times on Truth Social. I've been reading it for three months. None of that happened. I'm so grateful.
Alex Bruesewitz: It didn't not happen because of pushback from voices like Ian Carroll. Nobody's listening to the grifters on the pro-war side or the anti-war side.
Tucker Carlson: Let me just correct the record and say I am under no illusions about my power. I don't seem to have any power to change any event, unfortunately. I argued with Trump for ten years against doing this. He took other counsel. That shows you how much power I have — zero. I was not able to prevent this. And I don't think I had any role in ending it.
Alex Bruesewitz: I just think the hysterics started off as being the anti-war hysterics, and maybe they had reason to be. The president's position on Iran — I don't believe it has changed. For thirty years, you can find statements of him saying Iran should never have a nuclear weapon. In ninety days, he delivered on that promise. He struck them. Ninety days later, Iran says it will not seek nuclear enrichment. He never wanted to do a forever war. He never was going to put boots on the ground. His position hasn't changed. He's also always been against forever wars. So I think doing a quick military excursion is different from Iraq and Afghanistan and what the neocons' fever dream is. Mark Levin probably wants to send a million American troops.
Tucker Carlson: No doubt about it.
Alex Bruesewitz: And the president is not about that. So I think there was a lot of hysterics who just don't know who the president is and were acting like he was inconsistent on his positions when I don't think he actually was.
Tucker Carlson: This was my complaint from the beginning — and I'm not here to defend the IC or eighteen intelligence agencies — but there was no American intelligence that said Iran was on the brink of building a nuclear weapon. That came from Israel, and they lie. And they lied to Trump. And I told him that before this started, because it was obvious. So why would the United States ever rely on Israeli intelligence again if they just lied us into a war that got a bunch of Americans killed and raised gas prices?
Alex Bruesewitz: It was very sad to see the loss of soldiers' lives, and I know the president was certainly upset about that. Look, I think the president accomplished his goal there. And with the ceasefire, I think people are confident we're in a good spot. I think the president will obviously reserve the right to respond again with military action if he feels things are going sideways. But the president is now focused on domestic issues — lowering gas prices, lowering economic prices, bringing job opportunities back home. I think the foreign excursions have been successful. And now it's time to focus on home.
On the Israeli points — I think this proves that the president isn't a slave to Israel, or he's broken free. I support that.
Tucker Carlson: I don't think the president was ever a slave to Israel. And I think characterizing it as that was not fair. I'm friends with Yair Netanyahu — he's a nice guy. But there was a moment in time after the 2020 election where the president didn't have a great relationship with Bibi. Bibi was the first world leader to congratulate Joe Biden after the 2020 election, and I think that made people feel a little bit different about that relationship.
Alex Bruesewitz: The president now has a great working relationship with him, but he's certainly not a slave to Bibi or to Israel. And I think people who suggest that are not being fair.
Tucker Carlson: I still don't get it — why, if no one in your cabinet is enthusiastic about this, no one in your intel services says yes, they're on the brink of sending a nuclear-tipped ICBM into Miami — if all of them say that's not true — you turn and take Israeli intelligence, which is obviously fraudulent, and act on that. What is that?
Alex Bruesewitz: It also goes back to instinct. The president has been on this position for thirty years. And I believe the president did want to eliminate their nuclear capabilities. He also eliminated their ability to have a navy, an air force, and a missile program. And now the excursion — I don't even like to call it a war because it was a ninety-day blip — appears to be coming to an end. I can't imagine these hysterical voices on social media are going to prolong it.
Tucker Carlson: We differ in our analysis of the war, but I don't want to argue about it. What I want to understand is how public opinion on the question is shaped, and you're one of the experts on this topic.
Alex Bruesewitz: And by the way, if you ever discover that anti-war sentiment is being funded by a foreign power, text me, because I'd love to know who's paying for it.
Tucker Carlson: The "let's prolong the war on behalf of the Netanyahu regime" position does seem to be funded by somebody, because that's not an organic position in the United States. There's not — as you said — 67% in favor of following this lunatic path even further. So who is paying for that?
The Israeli foundation offer and the Brad Parscale FARA contract
Alex Bruesewitz: Getting foreign influence out of the political ecosystem — specifically online — is a passion project of mine. I am branded in the press as Trump's social media guy, so you can only imagine the type of money that countries and companies have tried to throw at me. I do not take any foreign money. I don't take any money from the Gulf countries, from India, from Russia, from China — no foreign countries.
Tucker Carlson: How much would you make if you wanted to?
Alex Bruesewitz: I've probably rejected close to $20 million in contracts over the last fifteen months.
Tucker Carlson: Damn. How old are you?
Alex Bruesewitz: I'm twenty-nine.
Tucker Carlson: That takes some restraint.
Alex Bruesewitz: I've actually never shared this publicly. In June of 2025, mid-June, shortly after the first Iran strike happened, I got a message from a friend. He texted me when I was on an airplane. He said, "Alex, great news from Israel." And I want to read the message so I don't butcher anything that was said. At 2:47 on June 16th, 2025: "Good news from Israel. They have budget for the American market to make a strategy and social network against Iran. I talked about you and they want to work with you. It is through a foundation. Call me when you can and I'll tell you all of the details." I said, "I appreciate you thinking of me. Likely can't get involved with this one."
So in June of 2025, it is documented that an Israeli foundation wanted to hire me — Trump's social media strategist — to help disseminate information related to Iran. I never got on the phone call, so I don't know exactly what they were looking to get amplified. But I didn't do it.
Tucker Carlson: What was the foundation? Do you know?
Alex Bruesewitz: The foundation was never specified. However, two months later, an organization run by Donald Trumps's former digital guy — who the president hasn't talked to in six-plus years — Brad Parscale, ended up filing a FARA contract with the state of Israel for $1.5 million a month. A month. In comparison, Brian Ballard, who is potentially the top lobbyist in Washington DC, charges the country of Saudi Arabia $60,000 a month. Brad Parscale has no experience being a lobbyist, and he certainly isn't selling access to the president because the guy has zero access to the president.
So two months after I was reached out to to work on an Israeli social media campaign related to Iran, Brad gets this social media contract with Israel, paid through a German entity called Javis Media Group. And I'm going to read you a part of Brad's initial FARA filing related to his deliverables for this particular contract. It says, quote: "Production and delivery of a minimum of 100 root creative assets per month spanning video, audio, graphic, and written formats. Creation of 5,000 monthly variants of creative. At least 80% of content is tailored to Gen Z audiences across platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, podcasts, and other relevant digital and broadcast outlets. Integration" — here's the kicker — "integration of narrative messaging into Salem Media Network properties and aligned distribution channels. And lastly, paid media campaigns delivering a minimum of 50 million impressions per month with a target average CPM under USD $2 across the combined budget pool."
That's what the FARA filing says. And that means that the Israeli government is paying Brad Parscale to spread its propaganda in the United States through various vectors, most of whom are MAGA influencer types.
Tucker Carlson: So it doesn't specify MAGA influencer types actually in that contract.
Alex Bruesewitz: I just don't know what he's getting paid $1.5 million a month for. And the most recent report that I saw on X — this was reported by a gentleman named Nick Cleveland-Stout — shows an updated filing that the Israeli government is now paying Brad Parscale $46 million in one year. And for some perspective, Saudi Arabia pays Ballard, one of the most connected firms in Trump's Washington, $60,000 a month.
Tucker Carlson: $46 million. So who's on Salem Media Network?
Alex Bruesewitz: Well, I don't want to speculate or accuse anybody. But the FARA filing says we'll disseminate propaganda through Salem. Josh Hammer — he's got a very low-rated podcast, he's a columnist — he was a big DeSantis supporter. He's at Salem Media Network. He's one of the loudest critics against the Iran war. You have people like Larry Elder, which is surprising because Larry Elder is typically a pro-Trump cheerleader. He's been very critical of the Iran war. There are a lot of other radio hosts who are syndicated on Salem who have been opposed. Hugh Hewitt obviously — though Hugh's always appreciated war, to be honest, so I don't think his positions have changed.
The contract says right there in the initial filing that he's integrating messaging into Salem properties. Salem also owns Red State, Town Hall, and a podcast network. They also have an influencer network. I would love to know what Brad is actually doing with this money. Part of the project is to help coach AI chatbots into being more pro-Israel, less anti-semitic. And look, I think there has been a rise of anti-semitism in the country. I think anti-semitism is high. It's wrong. I see some incidents in Brooklyn. I think hate against any religious group is wrong.
Tucker Carlson: I couldn't agree more. I've said that many times.
Alex Bruesewitz: I'm not opposed to Brad getting paid to combat anti-semitism. But what does that mean? What are the deliverables?
Tucker Carlson: Well, that's it. What does that mean? Opposing Bibi's foreign policy is not anti-semitism.
Alex Bruesewitz: I also want to add for context that Israel isn't the only country that has paid for influencer support in America. Ukraine has paid a ton. There was recently a field trip with a bunch of right-wing influencers who visited Russia. I don't think they paid for that trip out of their own pocket. I don't have particular issues with people visiting a country. My issues lie in: do you visit the country and then change the way you speak about it or use your platform to talk about it? Qatar had a similar situation during December. Some influencers who used to be opponents of Qatar flew there in December and then did some beautiful posts about Qatar. I also think that's wrong. My position is: if it's Israel, if it's Qatar, if it's Russia, if it's China, if it's India — you should not be able to pay. And you should be disclosing if you are in any way, shape, or form promoting the interests of another country.
My focus recently has been on Israel because of this massive contract that they've engaged in with Brad that nobody knows what the hell he's doing with the $46 million. So I texted him to find out, because a lot of that money has gone to attacking me and my family, which obviously I resent, though I try not to think about it too much.
Tucker Carlson: He never responded to my text either. I know Brad Parscale. I've always felt sorry for him. He's a troubled man. But I did think he would at least respond to my text.
Alex Bruesewitz: He responded to one of my tweets. He said, "Alex, I actually want to thank you for bringing this up. I don't know who pissed in your Cheerios this morning, but what you're looking at was an original draft, not what happened. We never executed that plan. We never paid hosts or influencers to say anything." That's the beauty of FARA — the receipts exist. Well, the only receipt that exists right now is Brad's initial contract where it says point blank we're going to integrate messaging. So he's saying he's not doing it. So what is he doing with this $46 million?
Tucker Carlson: You're one of the most famous people in this business. Have you ever heard of anybody getting $46 million from a single client?
Alex Bruesewitz: No. And even his $1.5 million a month initial FARA filing, I believe, is the single largest FARA filing for one entity in history. I asked Grok what's the largest FARA filing for one entity to date and it came back with some $9 million contract that I think Nigeria paid. One country, $9 million. Brad's initial contract was $1.5 million a month — that's $18 million a year. Now it's up to $46 million according to a recent report. And they're not paying him for his relationships in the White House. I don't think Brad Parscale could get a meeting in the West Wing to save his life. Specifically not in the Oval Office.
But he's going around different countries, and if you pull up his website — it's clocktowerx.com — he spells out exactly the services his company offers. It starts off with a header that says: "Narrative infrastructure. The system already shapes what people believe. We help determine who prevails. Elections, narratives, markets. We don't react. We shape the conditions they operate in." It talks about how they've had $2 billion-plus in influenced outcomes. Says they work in ten-plus countries. Then it says, "If you've heard about our work, it wasn't ours." And then it gets into some of the services they offer: narrative intelligence, audience segmentation, message testing. Here's one — "Influencer ecosystems: managed networks that amplify narratives through credible distributed voices." That's on this guy's website. So right there on his website: influencer ecosystems. I think Brad should, if he's doing it — I can't say definitively that he is — but these are the services offered on the website.
Tucker Carlson: I must say I've noticed that every Salem media property I'm aware of has the same view: more war is good, and I'm an anti-semite. Both of those are lies, by the way. Not an anti-semite, and war is not good. They all have the same view. Now, maybe it's just that every Salem host is crazy in exactly the same way. But maybe there's more to it than that.
Alex Bruesewitz: Maybe. And a lot of these same influencers have been organized against you for the last year consistently. This one account, for example, named Eli Yakobi — I'm not sure you've probably never heard of this kid, but all he does every day is tweet about you. The only time I see any of your clips are on the accounts of people attacking you.
Tucker Carlson: Who is he?
Alex Bruesewitz: Just some influencer. Non-influential influencers, I call them. But he certainly has been paid for some of his tweets. Do I know that he's been paid for tweets against you or against the Iran war? I can't say that for certain. But he was not honest about tweets that he is paid for. And he's tweeted about you probably 1,200 times in the last eight months.
Tucker Carlson: All complimentary?
Alex Bruesewitz: No. All negative, unfortunately for you. And look, I agree with some of his criticism. But I don't see it as organic. He's one of the loudest voices who keeps tagging me in posts saying, "Alex, you criticized Mark Levin, but you don't criticize Tucker. Why?" Well, I criticized you to your face here. But all of these social media accounts that have been targeting you are not targeting me. And they were targeting JD Vance when he appeared on Megyn Kelly's show — "how dare you go on Megyn Kelly's show," that's what they said.
The Levin headlock moment and Trump's pivot on the war
Tucker Carlson: Isn't this exactly why we all voted for Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024? Because we don't like cancel culture. The idea that if I don't like you, no one is allowed to talk to you — that's a left-wing idea. Or I thought it was. It turns out it's like a human idea, but I reject it just the same. Trump was elected in November of 2024. That was like twenty minutes ago. And within just months, all of a sudden you had the Josh Hammers of the world — who I'd never even heard of — saying that if I don't like somebody, nobody's allowed to talk to him because he's got naughty intentions or he's a bigot of some kind. How is that any different from screaming racist?
Alex Bruesewitz: You're right. And that's why I'm here. But are you shocked by this though?
Tucker Carlson: What the hell? Yeah. I mean, these people aren't the most honest dealers and brokers. I'll say this — one of the people who's been the loudest on this issue is actually a friend of mine, Laura Loomer. I have not liked seeing a lot of the vitriolic messages towards Loomer, people calling her mean names. I know that she dishes it out as well, but she's a friend of mine. During the 2024 election, everybody kept telling us, "Disavow Loomer, she's bad news." I wouldn't. And they would put pressure on me. Are you friends with Laura Loomer? I'd say yes, I am. I would never disavow Loomer. Similarly, I would never disavow you because you've been good to me. I consider you a friend. It's okay to have different opinions. Telling people that they shouldn't have conversations with people, or telling people that they should disavow someone — I'm not about that life.
Tucker Carlson: Not just telling, but demanding. That it's the price of your good name. "How dare you talk to this person, have dinner with this person, and if I find out that you do, I'm going to hurt you." That's the definition of a witch hunt. That's what the George Floyd era was about. That's Black Lives Matter. That's everything I despise. And to see it happen among people I know, who I thought I agreed with, is like the most shocking thing that's ever happened to me. Since when did all the neocons just become flat-out college-level liberals?
Alex Bruesewitz: They have been that way for at least my entire adult life.
Tucker Carlson: I guess you're right. This is a process of me losing my naivety. I guess those particular characters. But I won't disavow Loomer. I won't criticize Loomer. Even if I disagree with her, I'm not going to take to Twitter and say, "Hey, Loomer, I think you're off base." Same with you. And for the record, I would never attack someone's family or daughter-in-law.
Alex Bruesewitz: I just want to say in reference to no one in particular — attacking people's families for crimes they had nothing to do with, just because they're related to someone, suggests a view of the world based on blood guilt, which is not a Christian view. It's disgusting. It's a North Korean view. We don't punish people's families.
Tucker Carlson: That's why segregation is wrong. That's why the anti-white racism that dominates American life is wrong. That's why anti-semitism is wrong. That's why any worldview that punishes people who didn't commit a crime is always and everywhere wrong. And that would include attacking people's families if they didn't do anything. You know what I mean?
Alex Bruesewitz: That's true. That's why also the blanket Jew-haters — there are people who are critical of Israel and then there are people who tweet things that are totally anti-Jewish. The "Jews control everything" crowd — I think they're not the brightest.
Tucker Carlson: Attacking people for things they didn't do is wrong. Period. I would like this administration to take the anti-white stuff seriously and stop lecturing me, telling me that anti-semitism is the biggest problem in America. It's not. You have a much tougher time getting into the Ivy Leagues if you're white than if you're Jewish. That's a fact. It's provable — these numbers came out in court. And it's unfashionable to say that. I don't care. And by the way, if Jews or blacks or Filipinos or anybody was being discriminated against in the way that whites are being discriminated against, I would be opposed to it vocally, and I am opposed to it.
Alex Bruesewitz: I don't think the administration is overly prioritizing the protection of the Jewish community.
Tucker Carlson: Are you joking? Have you listened to Leo Terrell recently? That's Leo's job. Is there an anti-Black czar? Is there an anti-white racism czar? This is insane.
Alex Bruesewitz: I think there should be. Maybe there should be.
Tucker Carlson: How about we just treat everybody the same?
Alex Bruesewitz: I agree with you on that point. But I don't think the Department of Justice wakes up in the morning and thinks, "How can we personally protect Jewish Americans over everyone else?"
Tucker Carlson: Yes, they do. Are you joking? They went after Harvard and Yale and Columbia and Cornell and Princeton and Dartmouth — the Ivy League — on the basis of anti-semitism. Well, to the extent they're anti-semitic, they should not get federal money. I totally agree with that. But everybody knows — because it's been proven — that the barrier at those schools is being a white Christian male. And no one mentioned that. So it's like, what the hell are you doing here? You're telling me I live in a world — and have for fifty-seven years in this country — where being a white male is a disadvantage in official America in hiring, federal contracting, and school admissions, and no one says anything about it.
Alex Bruesewitz: That's fair. They also discriminate against Asians at the Ivy League.
Tucker Carlson: 100%, which is totally wrong. And David Hogg got accepted into Harvard. That's how you know the institution failed.
Alex Bruesewitz: I think higher education totally needs an overhaul. I don't encourage young people to go.
Tucker Carlson: Even more important than overhauling college is reminding every American that you're judged on your own merits. Period. And to the extent the federal government — we have laws on the books, we have a civil rights division that's supposed to be enforcing this — is not making it a priority, I'm sorry, they're not. And I got a call today from someone in the administration saying they're doing some work. It's like, they could end it tomorrow. We will not allow discrimination in our country. Period. No matter who you are — whether you're Black, Jewish, white, Asian, it doesn't matter. And they won't do it because their donors are single-mindedly focused on one of many forms of discrimination, which is not the most prevalent form. So I'm pissed and I'm going to keep saying this until they change their ways.
Voter ID, the Republican Senate, and the primary process
Alex Bruesewitz: I understand your frustration with the party. I have the frustration all the time as well. I'm frustrated right now. I'm sitting here while the Senate refuses to pass the Safe America Act that would enforce voter ID.
Tucker Carlson: Why? That's such an easy one.
Alex Bruesewitz: I think this might be the most common sense piece of legislation that's ever come through the Senate, but for whatever reason there's obstruction to it.
Tucker Carlson: But who's obstructing it? Do you know?
Alex Bruesewitz: We have a leader in the Senate who just can't get the job done. And maybe he can get it done, but he hasn't shown that he can, and he hasn't really made it a priority. I think this is a major priority for Republican voters. It's a major priority of Donald Trumps, who is the only reason we have a Republican-controlled Senate and a Republican-controlled Congress. And I think oftentimes Republicans forget that. The only reason Republicans have any power in Washington DC is because of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement. And time and time again, Congress drops the ball.
That's why the primaries are so important and we're working in the primaries. We took out Tillis. We took out Cornyn. We took out Cassidy. We're taking out some of the weakest Republicans on our team. And so the primary process is where I believe people like you should be taking out your frustrations.
Tucker Carlson: I just think you've gotten behind some of the wrong candidates. I like James Fishbach, but I don't think the state of Florida should be limiting the First Amendment rights of Floridians because Israel demands it, which is exactly what they did. That's not acceptable under any circumstances. My family's been here for like four hundred years. I'm not going to stand by and let that happen without saying something about it. Period.
Alex Bruesewitz: I hear you on that. There was probably a different candidate you could have gotten behind, because that guy's bad news and he's not an honest person. And I think you have a massive platform. When you put your platform to use, you helped take out Dan Crenshaw. So I thank you for that. And Donald Trumps didn't endorse Dan Crenshaw.
Tucker Carlson: Trump endorsed that creepy fat guy from Florida who endorsed genocide, who laughed at a picture of a dead child in Gaza. That disgusting — I can't even remember his name, but he was the only candidate that ran in that seat. Want to get someone new? Like, why would you do that? That's why I said you've got to be a slave to Israel.
Alex Bruesewitz: But now we have the flip side. You have Dan Bilzerian running. We have two extremes running that race. Both I don't agree with. Dan Bilzerian — maybe one of the people who's helped bring degeneracy to young men in America more than anybody. And Randy Fine. Maybe we need some better choices. Florida's been a great state for a long time. In my opinion, it's kind of hard to mess Florida up. Florida's got low taxes, beaches, great weather.
Tucker Carlson: Make it crowded and you'll destroy it.
Alex Bruesewitz: I think that's been a major issue. The developers — this is happening under DeSantis.
Tucker Carlson: I agree. I completely — look, there are things about DeSantis I really like. He's a very impressive guy. There's a lot about him that's impressive — that's just a fact. He's smarter than I am. But you have to take the big picture. You have to care about the people who live in the state, not just people who send money to your campaign — whether it's AIPAC, or worse than AIPAC, the strip mall developers and the people who just want to pave the state, want to destroy nature to make a quick buck. Those people are worse than AIPAC in my opinion.
Alex Bruesewitz: I've actually been talking to some data center developers who say you actually don't need that much land anymore. There's concern from some of the data centers that they're overbuilding — that in a few years from now the technology will be better, the energy resources will be better, and you're not going to need a two-million-square-foot facility.
Tucker Carlson: You need a lot of water.
Alex Bruesewitz: Can I say one thing about the Florida Senate race though? Why not just have a debate between Byron Donalds and Fishbach? So voters can decide.
Tucker Carlson: Byron Donalds won't because he's sixty points up. Fishbach — I don't even think he can qualify. No one will give him money and no one will give him a hearing, and that's why I gave him a hearing.
Alex Bruesewitz: I don't think he's even qualified because he hasn't lived in the state long enough, per my understanding.
Tucker Carlson: Byron Donalds is from New York.
Alex Bruesewitz: But he moved there twenty-plus years ago. Fishbach was living in Washington DC until just recently.
Tucker Carlson: I think Fishbach is actually from the state. His family's been there for many generations. Byron Donalds moves to Florida and immediately gets arrested on a felony charge. So as long as you're comparing backgrounds.
Alex Bruesewitz: My biggest gripe with Fishbach is he tried to scam me personally — tried to scam me out of $50,000 when he was pretending to be a financial expert running different funds.
Tucker Carlson: How did you know him?
Alex Bruesewitz: I met him through Twitter. He used to be one of the president's biggest defenders. He was an economic pundit on Fox, an economic pundit on CNN. He was the head of different funds — the Aoria fund. And so he also really wanted a job with the Trump administration. He wanted to be a commissioner for some agency and asked me to advocate for him.
Tucker Carlson: Did you send him money?
Alex Bruesewitz: No, I didn't send him money.
Tucker Carlson: Then we're square.
Alex Bruesewitz: Two weeks later though, his fund shuts down.
Tucker Carlson: Well, maybe he's not a great fund manager. My question is, what was he going to do with the $50,000?
Ted Cruz, Mark Levin, and the Salem Media network
Tucker Carlson: Can I ask you — why do you think Ted Cruz believes what he believes?
Alex Bruesewitz: That's his position. I don't know why he believes it. But I'm not a fan of Ted. Ted still thinks in the back of his mind that one day he can be president of the United States. It won't happen. I actually spoke at the Jerusalem Post conference a couple of weeks ago, and Ted prides himself on being Israel's number one defender. He loves Israel so badly.
Tucker Carlson: I think he genuinely loves the country though. But he has hurt the country.
Alex Bruesewitz: I gave that speech at the Jerusalem Post. I said, "I'm here today as an ally and a supporter of Israel, somebody who wants to see Americans and Israel have a strong relationship for decades to come." And I truly believe that. I highlighted how I think they're a great battlefield-proven partner, they have great technologies that can benefit American companies, medicine, etc. And I said, however, Israel's approval rating in America — especially with my generation, Republicans under thirty — is at an all-time low. And that's not great. And one of the reasons I think it's so low is not because of podcasters who are anti-Israel, but because of some of Israel's most ardent supporters in the United States. People like Senator Ted Cruz push people away.
This was in early June, right after there was this idea that an Iran deal was close. Ted Cruz took to X and he slammed any prospects of a deal. "You can't make a deal with the Iranian regime." Dude, this guy has no idea what's in the deal, and he's trying to get out in front of it to trash the president and undermine the administration. And I'm looking at this guy thinking: if he actually wants to help Israel, he would shut up. So I said that at the Jerusalem Post conference. And mind you, these are all Jewish people with love for Israel. They all cheered for me after I said Ted Cruz should shut the hell up.
If he truly loved Israel, I think he would better serve them by not constantly defending them on social media. And it's not just Ted Cruz — Mark Levin has inspired more people to join BDS than any campus group ever.
Tucker Carlson: He's currently trying to get me fired, by the way. So that's the question — Mark Levin hates Trump. He's always hated Trump. He's worked against Trump openly for a decade. And then Trump does something that he agrees with and he's the gatekeeper to Trump and Trump's best friend. Now he hates Trump again and he's attacking Trump. How long does Trump continue to be friends with this guy?
Alex Bruesewitz: I don't know. The president is unique. He can handle people who criticize him. And I don't think Mark Levin was ever the president's best friend. The president has different opinions around him.
Tucker Carlson: He's tweeting out — well, I don't think Trump likes him. That's my opinion.
Alex Bruesewitz: Potentially he was just saying it to mess with you. You ever think about that?
Tucker Carlson: That's totally possible, by the way. That's literally possible.
Alex Bruesewitz: Look, I think Mark is part of a Republican party that has been left in the past. They are desperately trying to remain relevant and they use conflicts — whether it's in the Middle East or the conflict in Ukraine — to have a little bit of relevance, to maintain their presence on Fox News. But the people aren't with them. You see it in polling — again, 67% of Americans support the ceasefire. Look at Mark Levin's Twitter feed. He acts like everybody's against it. Nobody's against it except for Mark and his friends who are probably coordinating in their messaging and talking points.
Tucker Carlson: I think that's a totally correct analysis. And by the way, I fall for it. I always try to remind myself: Mark Levin is not a player in any affairs, global or local. He's irrelevant. His job is just to make me mad and suck me into his fantasy world. And I should just ignore this. You've clearly already figured that out. Good for you.
Alex Bruesewitz: Don't take the bait. And I tell my clients: ignore the comment section. Because you're not changing opinions on X. Nobody sees something on X and goes, "Oh wow, I changed my mind on something." X is a nasty place. It's where you battle people. It's a war of ideas. And some people cheat in the war of ideas — they use bots, they use coordinated influencer campaigns. But it's not a place where you should think that's reality.
Tucker Carlson: Because it's all manipulated.
Alex Bruesewitz: Exactly. And that's the final question I wanted you to unpack. You've alluded to this a couple of times. You said, "I know that this person" — that Yakobi kid — "has taken money for other opinions and not been honest about it." What were you referring to?
Alex Bruesewitz: Well, there are a few different tweets. In the most recent Georgia governor's election, he was paid to go after this guy named Rick Jackson. It says: "Rick Jackson brands himself as aligned with conservative priorities, but his businesses tell a different story. DEI initiatives, diversity-focused leadership and roles supporting gender-related procedures. Voters should look at actions, not slogans." And right at the bottom, it says "paid partnership." And then right above that tweet is another tweet that's very similar in language but didn't say "paid partnership." Was he paid for it? I don't know. But it certainly looks like it.
And here are the talking points that went out by a company that word-for-word spell out what Yakobi ended up tweeting: "Rick Jackson claims to want to ban DEI. His own company has a track record of advancing the ideas of DEI." So all these influencers were sent this memo, and I did a screenshot and put it side by side with Yakobi's tweets. It's verbatim. And the company that was hired for this project just happens to be associated with Brad Parscale.
Tucker Carlson: So it looks like you don't have evidence that this kid is working for Brad Parscale for the Iranian campaign.
Alex Bruesewitz: No evidence of that for the Iranian campaign. I notice on those rare occasions when I look at the stuff — because it's designed to make you mad and limit your ability to think clearly — that there are people who are constantly sending these long tweets about how we need endless war who are also promoting like some very specific kind of car insurance.
Alex Bruesewitz: Yeah, that's another one. This girl, Aryan Wexler. Nobody knows who she is. She came out of nowhere in 2023–24. She's a pretty girl and she started showing up at conservative events. I got introduced to her on the campaign trail. She really wanted to get involved with the Trump 2024 campaign. I said no. I never even entertained her. And I would text some of my friends: "Is this girl a fed?" I don't think she's a fed, but she came out of nowhere. She's one of your biggest critics on social media.
Tucker Carlson: One of mine. Absolutely.
The Charlie Kirk murder investigation
Alex Bruesewitz: Back to this Wexler situation — by the way, I did see something that you were on a podcast yesterday and you said you think Israel killed Charlie Kirk.
Tucker Carlson: I did not say that.
Alex Bruesewitz: Okay. What was the clip that —
Tucker Carlson: I said — I've never said that. I know a lot of people, including in the Trump administration, who think that. However, there's no proof of that. What I said was two things. One, I don't know when the command came down and from whom that we have to trust everything federal law enforcement says. But I'm not obeying that. We have a moral obligation to push federal law enforcement to do the job we pay them to do, which is to investigate the crimes fully. And so, for example, if there are people who predicted Charlie's death on Twitter, I think the rest of us can expect that they've been hauled in by the FBI for questioning. I don't think they have been.
Two, just because someone is shot by one person doesn't mean others weren't involved. Don't berate me into accepting that assumption, because I would never accept that. Why would I assume that? And three, to tell me that you know the motive before the trial even starts — that he was killed for his views on transgenderism — maybe he was. Maybe it was more complicated than that. How would you know? You don't know. So stop yelling at me to accept a conclusion that you can't prove.
This is my friend. And by the way, if I was murdered, I would expect people who loved me not to jump to unwarranted conclusions, but to press federal law enforcement to do its freaking job. And stop calling people names because they're asking you to do your job.
Alex Bruesewitz: I think a lot of people did jump to unwarranted conclusions. Right after the assassination, many people with big platforms — not you — were saying that Israel was behind it.
Tucker Carlson: Many people with big platforms were saying that he was killed for his views on transgenderism, and we don't know that actually. We don't know anything.
Alex Bruesewitz: But Charlie was killed as he was talking about transgender issues, and this guy Tyler Robinson seems to be in love with transgender people.
Tucker Carlson: That may be absolutely true. For me and a lot of Americans, that seems like the most plausible situation. But you're never going to catch me saying — because I don't know it — that Tyler Robinson wasn't involved. I'm merely saying that to foreclose the possibility that others were involved is irresponsible. And then to attack other people for raising the question.
I've been a journalist my entire life. The basic process of journalism is not so different from the process of gathering evidence in a criminal investigation — which is that all leads should be run down that are not utterly preposterous. And if you're not doing that, then I have a right to ask why. And if Joe Kent, who until the day he left had the highest level security clearance in the Trump administration, says, "Hey, I referred these leads to the DOJ and they ignored them and then got mad at me for referring them" — what the hell is that? And if no one can answer you other than to call you an anti-semite, that's not a real answer.
Alex Bruesewitz: I don't think Joe Kent is an anti-semite. And I don't think you're an anti-semite.
Tucker Carlson: I'm not alleging Israel did it. I can't prove that. But then I guess that is an example of a clip of mine that was being taken out of context — "Israel did it." That was the message yesterday and that's what I saw. And so it's just interesting that all the people who are telling you to shut up and accept a conclusion that hasn't even been reached in court yet — they're all neocons. So why is that? What is that? Where is that campaign coming from?
And as his friend, here's what I want. I've said it to the folks at Turning Point who I talk to and like in some cases: everyone who loved Charlie has an obligation to push for the most rigorous, open-minded, exhaustive criminal investigation possible. And if you're not doing that, why are you not doing that? I called people at the FBI directly. I'm not being paid to do this. I did it because I love Charlie Kirk. And they didn't give me a good answer.
Did you see that recently at the court hearing, they're not making Tyler Robinson's lover testify? They're basically giving them spousal privilege.
Alex Bruesewitz: Yeah. What is that?
Tucker Carlson: That's a great question. And who's this guy who jumped up and claimed credit for the murder seconds after it happened? Who's that guy who all of a sudden gets busted on child pornography charges and we can't talk to him? I don't know what this adds up to, but I know weirdness when I see it. And by the way, is there not footage of Tyler Robinson pulling the trigger? Apparently they say there is. No one has seen it who I know — including high-level people who have asked to see it. Why? I'm not saying it doesn't exist. I'm saying why are you acting like this?
Alex Bruesewitz: I think it's totally fair — as a friend of Charlie's or just as an American who believes justice has to be done — to demand an answer. And I'm not going to be deterred by people screaming anti-semite in my face. I agree that we should 100% push for a thorough investigation. The way the investigation has unfolded has allowed the space for all of the speculation to take place.
Tucker Carlson: But it's just funny — everyone's mad at the podcasters for it. You've got a freaking Department of Justice that we pay for billions a year, that has the right to shoot you, that has unlimited police powers, that can tell you any lie they want and it's fine. If you lie to them, it's a federal crime. They have all the power. Therefore they need all the accountability. And no one seems to be mad at the FBI or the Utah state authorities for not answering simple questions. And if you can't answer a simple question, maybe there's a good reason. What's that reason? "Shut up, anti-semite." I'm just not going to take that under any circumstances ever.
Alex Bruesewitz: Right now what it seems like, at least in the right-wing media ecosystem, is that more than half the side says Tyler Robinson did it, and then there's a pocket of the internet that definitively says Israel did it. I want the tiebreaker to be the DOJ giving us real information and answering the question. And I actually called the FBI at the highest level. Have you guys interviewed the people who appeared to have foreknowledge? "We've got that covered." Have you interviewed them or not? Like, this is just a common sense question. Couldn't get an answer.
Tucker Carlson: I saw some TikTok posts the day before Charlie died that basically said, "Oh, Charlie's going to regret coming here." And everyone's aware of those posts. But have the people who posted those things been interviewed? If I go on TikTok and threaten the life of a federal official, I get an immediate visit from the FBI. Immediate. And I should. I get it. I'm not against that. Have these guys received visits from the FBI? And last time I checked, the answer was no.
So I think it's totally fair — as a friend of Charlie's or just as an American who believes justice has to be done — to demand an answer. And I'm not going to be deterred by people screaming anti-semite in my face.
Alex Bruesewitz: I hear you. I just think that jumping to conclusions could be reckless.
Tucker Carlson: Well, a lot of people are jumping to the conclusion that Charlie Kirk was killed because of his positions on transgenderism. That's jumping to a conclusion. We don't know that. There's been no trial.
Alex Bruesewitz: There's more evidence leaning towards the transgender issues.
Tucker Carlson: Show me all the evidence.
Alex Bruesewitz: That's what we're having at court, right?
Tucker Carlson: Exactly. So both sides are jumping to conclusions. Anyone who says, "Shut up, he was killed by the transgender guy" — I think what makes the whole process worse is social media. And how did Charlie Kirk's murder wind up a contest between people with different views on foreign policy? I think that's the weirdest thing I've ever seen.
Alex Bruesewitz: Good question. I think a lot of people are nefariously using Charlie's passing for self-gain. And I think that's wrong.
Tucker Carlson: But also for ideological ends and foreign imperatives. Like, that's really clear to me. How did this become about that? If it's really just about transgenderism, then why is every person insisting it's only about transgenderism also attacking the ceasefire deal? Like, what are we looking at? I'm a medium IQ person, maybe even a low IQ person, but I'm just noting what's happening and asking what does it add up to. And I don't know, but it's weird.
Alex Bruesewitz: I hear you. I remember where I was when he got shot. I was actually in a meeting in Washington DC and I got bored in the meeting, so I started looking at my phone and I saw Charlie got shot. And once I saw the footage, I actually started crying because I thought there was no way he was going to survive that.
Tucker Carlson: I did too. And the aftermath has been even tougher. I think Erica gets treated incredibly unfairly by the media, by the pundit class. She's got such a tough thing going on for her.
Alex Bruesewitz: Charlie put on a show. Everything he did, he put on a great show. And people are criticizing Erica for continuing in Charlie's footsteps.
Tucker Carlson: I think a lot of it's been pretty unfair. I think they asked some fair questions. But I think the treatment of her generally has been horrible and I think people should apologize to her. I was texting with her yesterday. There are few people I feel sadder for than her. Here's a woman who's a widow with two small kids.
Alex Bruesewitz: And those two small kids just had their first Father's Day without Charlie.
Tucker Carlson: We want justice for Charlie. And we should be demanding it. It was a disservice for Netanyahu to make it about Netanyahu, which he did.
Alex Bruesewitz: I think he's chronically online. I don't think there's anything overtly nefarious. I think Bibi very much cares about the sentiment about him on social media in America. That's why he saw — and he has the problem of people who are chronically online. Ron DeSantis was chronically online. We took advantage of him for being chronically online during 2024.
Tucker Carlson: Really?
Alex Bruesewitz: DeSantis really had a moment when Trump was kind of in no man's land after the 2020 election. DeSantis started having his moment, and what he would do is he would see what was trending on right-wing X that day. The next day he would do a press conference or go on your show addressing that issue, and it made him seem like he was one of us when in reality he was just reading what we were talking about and then taking action.
Tucker Carlson: No, that's smart. It was a good political move.
Alex Bruesewitz: It's totally right. But he was chronically online. And so in 2024 when he ran for president, we muddied the water for him. Every time he looked on Twitter, people like me were tweeting about his boots and his choice of footwear or the makeup he was using that day. And we made X a place for him that he didn't like and he kind of lost his mojo. He couldn't really figure out what was in his head.
Tucker Carlson: So you got in his head.
Alex Bruesewitz: Live by the algorithm, die by the algorithm. I think Bibi — there are theories about him that he's this grand mastermind of all. I think he's chronically online. He sees what people say about him on social media and he reacts to it. And I think when you're a world leader, that's terrible. And that's why I love the president for not feeling the pressure from the chattering class on these issues.
Tucker Carlson: I think that's great. But I also think you need to synthesize your own opinions with those of the people you represent. People care about gas prices more than they care about the Iranian nuclear program. Convincing Americans that the Iranian nuclear program is more important than gas prices is like the craziest thing. Where Donald Trumps gets his opinions from is when he goes to Pennsylvania, when he went to a truck factory yesterday.
Alex Bruesewitz: I think the president takes more direction from the patriots who showed up at the Pennsylvania rally yesterday than from his donors.
Tucker Carlson: Well, he has. And that has been his great strength. Everyone would always make fun of Trump for doing these endless rallies and giving endless speeches, but I always felt it was important for him. He loved it, for one thing, but he could feel the energy from the crowd and gauge people's interest by their response to his lines. Super important exercise.
Alex Bruesewitz: I encourage you, if you like those, to watch as many Trump rallies as you can because they're not going to be here forever. One of the things I regret now in my life is that Charlie Kirk and I both spoke at this event in South Korea. I spoke before him and I was tired — the jet lag. And Charlie was about to go on stage and he said, "You stick around, you watch me speak?" I said, "No, I got to get out of here. I'm tired." And it was Charlie's last public speech and I didn't stick around to watch it because I was tired. Same with Trump. You know, look — Trump is not perfect. But I think he is the best that we've had, at least in my lifetime. And I think he loves the country. I think he loves the people of the country. I think he genuinely cares about the people he goes out and represents in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and Ohio and Florida.
Do we have the greatest team around us in the Republican Congress and Senate? Absolutely not. But we have two years left of the Donald Trump experiment. And if the Democrats win, that experiment's going to be muddied by impeachments. So I do encourage your audience to get involved in the primary process as much as they can. If they don't like the Republican who's currently in office, go get somebody that you do like. But we have two years left of the Donald J. Trump experiment in our country. And I think people are going to miss him when he's gone.
I want the last two years to be wholly focused on the United States — not on Netanyahu's concerns or Zelensky's or anyone else's concerns.
Tucker Carlson: No, we were having a discussion before this about Latin America.
Alex Bruesewitz: I think it's exciting what's happening in Latin America. Totally agree. Administrations before this one were more focused on the Middle East and countries that were thousands of miles away while our own backyard has been suffering. And because of the suffering in the backyard, all of these illegal aliens came into our country. This administration has prioritized strengthening some of these countries — not at the cost of hurting our country, but helping these countries become more stabilized, become more economically strong. Because if they have strong countries, the migrants aren't going to come to ours.
Tucker Carlson: Last question. Can you ask him to just stop listening to people who don't like you, don't have your best interest or the nation's best interest at heart? Just ignore those people — whether it's Mark Levin or the Murdochs or whoever — people who are just like, and just return to the concerns that you know your voters love you for caring about.
Alex Bruesewitz: I think the president hears the opinions of as many people as possible. He'll ask the janitor in the room about his opinion on a topic. He's got his advisors, he's got his cabinet members, and then he has the public sentiment. He goes to a rally and he polls the crowd. He feels the energy when he says something in a speech.
Tucker Carlson: If the janitor says to you, "I got a hot stock tip for you — take $500 million and go into this IPO," and the IPO tanks and you lose all the money, next round you're not taking investment advice from the janitor. You cross him off the list of people to consult for investment advice. If Mark Levin and Mark Thiessen and Sean Hannity and Rupert Murdoch all come to you and say, "I've got a great idea — regime change in Iran. All you've got to do is kill the Ayatollah. The place will collapse. They're going to put some pro-Israel, pro-America guy in to run the place." You say okay, you do it. Doesn't work. You've got to cross them off the list of people to consult for future foreign policy advice.
Alex Bruesewitz: I don't think it went down exactly that way. But the president seeks out counsel from many people and he doesn't take the opinion of one person to make a decision. I personally don't want any advice from Mark Levin personally. And I think he's incredibly unhelpful to the country. I don't think he's brought any voters to the Republican party. I think he pushes people away from the party. But it's not up to me.
What's so great about the president is he's willing to have conversations with people. Does he act on everything people tell him? No. Sometimes he might be more aligned with that group, sometimes he might be more aligned with the way you think. But he's the president for everybody. He's focused on doing, in his opinion, what's best for the American people. That's his focus.
We get the fun part of just being cheerleaders on the sidelines for whatever the hell we believe in and want to do. The Trump experiment's gone in two years and I think we're all going to miss it. So I encourage you — even if you disagree with him on something, even if you don't like what he's doing — just remember that two years from now, he's gone and we're going to miss him. And we're going to be complaining that the whole process is so boring again, because everybody before Trump was so boring.
Tucker Carlson: Unless it gets way more exciting in a bad way, which I'm against. Who knows?
Alex Bruesewitz: Who knows? We'll find out in two years.
Tucker Carlson: I really appreciate your breaking the embargo and coming to see me. It was great. Thanks.