Fact Check: Did Tucker Carlson say Trump would be 'dead soon'?

WASHINGTON, DC: A viral post on X claimed that media personality Tucker Carlson made controversial remarks about US President Donald Trump, allegedly calling him “incompetent” and suggesting he would not remain in office for long due to his age.

The post also claimed Carlson contrasted Trump with California Governor Gavin Newsom, describing Newsom as more competent but more malicious. It further stated that the comments were made during an appearance linked to 'The Megyn Kelly Show,' where Carlson reportedly responded to questions about Trump’s approval ratings and potential midterm losses by comparing his leadership to that of Newsom.

Claim: Tucker Carlson said Donald Trump would be dead

According to the X user @AllyJKiss, the post began by stating, “Disgusting and idiotic.” It then included the line, “Megyn Kelly: What happens to Trump now?” 

The post further emphasized, “Tucker Carlson: Trump’s going to be 80 next month and will be dead very soon. Things could be worse with someone like Gavin Newsom because, unlike Trump, Gavin is NOT INCOMPETENT."

The video reportedly gained over 1.1 million views, along with more than 1.3K comments and 3.6K likes. 

The post also sparked widespread discussion on X, with one user questioning, “Did Tucker Carlson really say Trump is incompetent like the video suggest? It looks edited.”

Another user remarked, “Calling Trump incompetent has to be the dumbest remark I've ever seen.”

Meanwhile, another user commented, “I can’t stand Carlson, but he is right about that, Trump has s almost over, MAGA cult will implode after he is gone,” reflecting the divided reactions the post generated.

Fact Check: 'Trump would be dead soon' is not the exact phrase Tucker Carlson used

However, the claim has caused confusion online, and while the video appeared authentic, the interpretation of the statements has been widely disputed. Here is what was actually said in the exchange.

Based on available search results from early May 2026, Tucker Carlson discussed Donald Trump and Gavin Newsom in the context of political forecasting and leadership comparisons, with commentary focused on Trump’s age and future prospects.

Megyn Kelly asked, “Trump's terrible approval numbers with the midterms, all but lost already. What happens to Trump now?”

Tucker Carlson responded, “That we're just not good at predicting the future, you know, we imagine, like? This is going to happen in November in the midterms, and maybe, maybe not. Just remember that Trump turns 80 next month.”

Carlson added, “You know, and I hope he's a great birthday. I don't wish Trump ill, however, he will be gone relatively soon, and we'll still have this country. I don't think things are going well and well, I think they could be a lot worse.”

He continued, “I think there I can think. Imagine other leaders who are both malicious and competent. Trump is incompetent. Gavin Newsom is not incompetent. And he's more malicious than Trump. I think he's far less transparent than Trump. Like, I don't know. We just need to keep our wits about us and not ping pong from one bad idea to another bad idea.”

Carlson did not use the word “dead” in his remarks; however, he suggested that Trump would be “gone relatively soon.” As a result, describing the statement as referring to Trump being “dead” is misleading.

This article contains remarks made on the internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.