In further proof that the nightmare is far from over, JD Vance has recruited Tucker Carlson’s spawn

In yet more evidence that nepotism runs rampant in the Donald Trump administration, vice president JD Vance has reportedly enlisted Tucker Carlson’s son to join his press office. 

Buckley Carlson, the son of the controversial conservative media personality, will serve as Vance’s deputy press secretary, according to sources via ABC News.  While the younger Carlson has worked as an aide on Capitol Hill since 2019 and recently served as deputy chief of staff to Republican Senator Jim Banks, the recruitment to the vice president’s office is a notable step up. 

Interestingly, Carlson’s new gig will see him remain in Republican circles, despite records listing the 28-year-old as a registered Democrat since 2015. Carlson is expected to begin work as Vance’s deputy press secretary — serving under Taylor Van Kirk — soon, amid a swathe of new appointments to the vice president’s staff in recent weeks. Among them are Andy Baker as Vance’s national security adviser, and Brian Gray as his deputy chief of staff.

Tucker Carlson’s closeness to the president has already launched commentary that Buckley’s hiring by Vance is an example of nepotism, but similar claims have dogged his son in the past. In 2022, an anonymous Republican politician claimed in a Daily Beast report that Buckley’s role in Banks’ staff was based in nepotism, because that Senator “dies to be liked by the establishment.” That reportedly left Tucker raging behind the scenes, at which point Donald Trump Jr. (another example of nepotism) defended Buckley as appropriately qualified for the position as Banks’ chief of staff. 

The Carlson family has remained in the orbit of the Trump administration for many years. Since parting ways with Fox News in 2023, Tucker was seen standing in the same row as Trump during the Republican National Convention, and interviewed the president in the lead up to the election late last year. Vance has been equally supportive of Tucker in his own right, and came to his defence when he declined to denounce the media personality for hosting a Holocaust denier for a video interview last September.   

Of course, the Trump administration offering preferential treatment to those in his orbit — including his own family — is nothing new, particularly as he began assembling the members of his second cabinet last year. In December, Trump announced that Massad Boulos — whose son, Michael, is married to Trump’s daughter, Tiffany — would serve as a senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs in his administration. That appointment followed Trump’s enlistment of Charles Kushner, the father-in-law of his daughter Ivanka, to be the U.S. ambassador to France.

Even before his second cabinet, the word “nepotism” plagued Trump during his first presidency. During those years (hitherto known as the simpler times), both Jared Kushner and Ivanka faced scrutiny for their prominent roles in the White House, which came to include Ivanka’s attendance at G20 meetings and at nuclear talks with Kim Jong-Un. 

While Ivanka’s role has seemingly been reduced, other Trump spawn have taken the mantle, with The Guardian reporting Trump has become increasingly reliant on his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., as a go-to voice on White House strategy. 

Then, there’s Barron Trump, who is said to have played a large role in Trump’s election victory. Amid all that mess, perhaps it’s good news that Buckley, a registered Democrat, is a stone’s throw away from Trump’s staff. But then again, growing up listening to whatever nonsense Tucker is spewing is bound to yield some questionable behavior.