They say that when you need something to work most, it doesn’t. So when I awoke to hear that Hurricane Helene had knocked out our power and we had limited cell reception on the day I was set to interview Tucker Carlson, I was worried. I ended up calling him from the parking lot of my favorite local coffee shop; inclement circumstances aside, he did not disappoint, making bold and heterodox arguments about the national interest, the state of the country, and, especially, whether America needs to worry about Iran. 

Our conversation began with the usual exchange of pleasantries—a surreal experience, having a voice you’ve listened to for so many years actually respond to you in real time. I asked him to bear with me, saying that I wasn’t a real journalist. The response: a quintessential Tucker laugh. “No no, it’s quite alright, journalists are all loathsome creatures anyway,” he said. 

Reassured, I asked him how he felt his nearly completed tour went, and whether it lived up to his expectations. Like most who have been on long trips, individual days and experiences all seemed to merge together for him, but he seemed happy as a whole, “It has been truly incredible,” he said. “Living in a very remote part of Maine I understandably don’t get out that much, but I really felt that I needed to actually be on the ground and see our country and its people.”