AP Photo/John Youngbear, File
- Andrew Yang announced on October 4 that he was leaving the Democratic Party to form a third party.
- Tucker Carlson said Unabomber Ted Kaczynski wrote a "smart analysis" about the way systems work.
- Yang's third party, the Forward Party, currently exists as a political action committee.
On Wednesday's episode of "Tucker Carlson Tonight," Fox News figurehead Tucker Carlson cited Unabomber Ted Kaczynski's manifesto during a discussion with former Democratic presidential and New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang on the country's two-party system.
Yang's appearance on the talk show came three days after he announced his departure from the Democratic Party to create a third party, the prospectively named "Forward Party." He told Carlson he wants to offset the two-party system, temper political polarization, and find a "middle ground in American politics."
In response, Carlson said he thought the Unabomber wrote a convincingly "smart analysis" about the way systems work despite being a bad person.
"[The Unabomber's] argument is that large organizations over time morph into purely self-preservation projects. A big system in the end protects itself. Our two-party system is certainly in that category," Carlson said.
-@brooklynmutt (@brooklynmutt) October 9, 2021
CNN anchor Jim Acosta questioned Yang on Saturday about his decision to appear on the Fox show, calling Carlson a "bad person" who "spouts off white nationalist talking points."
"As you know, Tucker commands a massive audience, and if you wanted to try to build a unifying popular movement that does call attention to the fact that our system's not working really for anyone, you have to, again, reach out," Yang responded. "That's what I was doing on that show."
In order to be recognized as a third party by the Federal Election Commission, the Forward Party will need to be registered state-by-state. It currently exists in the form of a political action committee.