Former Trump campaign chairman and pardoned felon Paul Manafort appeared on The Tucker Carlson Show to support his party’s candidate, going so far as to say that he believes little can sway voters at this stage.
“I don’t see any major October Surprise that’s going to come up that can change that trajectory now,” Manafort said, citing the end of hurricane season and a stabilization of tension in the Middle East as potential factors that might shift voter attitudes.
“There’s no event that’s going to change the trajectory of the race like the debate did in 1980—Reagan vs Carter—allowing the undecideds to vote their economic interests,” Manafort added. “There’s nothing that’s going to change—I don’t believe—that will allow the undecideds to vote against their economic interests for Harris.”
Manafort has thus far remained silent during the 2024 election cycle, but his appearance on Carlson’s show garnered over 725,000 views on social media platform X within the first 24 hours of posting.
Newsweek reached out to both the Trump and Harris campaign by email on Thursday for response to Manafort’s comments.
Paul Manafort attends the fourth day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 18, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Delegates, politicians, and the Republican faithful are in Milwaukee for the annual convention, concluding with former President Donald Trump accepting his party’s presidential nomination. The RNC takes place from July 15-18.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Manafort’s conviction occurred as a result of special counsel Robert Mueller‘s investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government to influence the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election.
The probe did not uncover collusion, but it did bring to light Manafort’s other activities, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruct justice in relation to undisclosed lobbying for a pro-Russian politician and political party in Ukraine, according to The Washington Post.
A judge ultimately sentenced Manafort to 73 months in prison after finding him guilty of eight of 18 felony counts, including counts of false tax returns, bank fraud and failing to disclose a foreign bank account.
Manafort later gained a home confinement allowance amid coronavirus fears during the first year of the pandemic. He did not serve out the remainder of his sentence due to Trump’s presidential pardon.
Trump, however, pardoned Manafort as part of his final sweep in the final days of his presidency, clearing Manafort of federal charges. Trump also had reportedly considered bringing Manafort back on board for his 2024 campaign.
Manafort spent much of his appearance on Wednesday’s episode of The Tucker Carlson show insisting that polling favors Trump and that momentum stands firmly with the former president rather than his rival Vice President Kamala Harris.
The interview focused mostly on the battleground states and on what issues have emerged as predominant for voters. When asked by Carlson what Republicans would do if Trump didn’t win in November, Manafort floundered to find answer before insisting he only sees victory for Trump.
“The answer is…ultimately, yes, I think,” Manafort said. “I don’t honestly deal with that scenario now because in my mind, we’re not going to lose…I don’t see that happening.”
