A key team member has left the office of Vice President JD Vance. This person is closely linked to the man who helped start Vance’s political journey.
Buckley Carlson, the 28-year-old son of conservative media figure Tucker Carlson, has left Vance’s team, according to Politico.
He had been working as a press assistant in the vice president’s office since January 2025, right after the inauguration.
The vice president’s office said Buckley had planned to leave in December, but he stayed until now to make sure the transition went smoothly.
However, the timing of Buckley’s departure has caused some questions.
President Donald Trump has been very angry at his father, Tucker, because of his criticism of the war in Iran.
Tucker has been one of the most vocal conservative voices against Trump’s war with Iran since it began on February 28.
He has also been against American military actions in the Middle East for a long time, criticizing the older, more hawkish part of the Republican Party.
Recently, Tucker has used his show, The Tucker Carlson Show, to openly criticize Trump for getting involved in a war with Iran.
This has not gone over well with Trump, who has called Tucker “highly overrated” and a “Low IQ person” in several rants on Truth Social.
“Tucker Carlson, who couldn’t even finish college… was a broken man when he got fired from Fox, and he’s never been the same — Perhaps he should see a good psychiatrist!”
Trump wrote in a long message on Truth Social.
Tucker has turned Trump’s insults into merchandise, selling T-shirts and hats with the phrase “Low IQ” on them.
But Tucker is widely seen as the person who helped get Vance, his son’s former boss, elected to the Senate in Ohio.
Before Tucker was fired from Fox News in 2023, when he still had the most-watched cable news show, he invited Vance onto his show more than any other GOP Senate candidate in the 2022 election cycle.
Vance appeared on Tucker’s show 46 times before it was canceled, more than he appeared on any other Fox program or any other cable news program.
On air, Tucker praised Vance, and behind the scenes, he successfully pushed for Trump to support Vance in the 2022 Ohio Senate race, even though Vance had previously criticized the president.
Just two years later, thanks to his close friendship with Donald Trump Jr., Tucker helped get Vance onto the Republican presidential ticket as Vice President.
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