Frank Luntz says Tucker Carlson may be planning a run for president

Controversial pollster and strategist Frank Luntz claimed this week that Fox News host Tucker Carlson is likely angling for a bid to run for the White House, a remark that comes after Luntz was spotlighted on Carlson's show for having at one point rented a room to a U.S. representative. 

Asked on an episode of the New York Times podcast "Sway" what he thought of Carlson's report—which suggested that U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy may have violated ethics rules by renting a room from Luntz—the pollster responded: "Tucker realizes that he can make any accusation he wants to make ... because he's very popular among a certain segment of conservatism."

"I think Tucker is running for president," he continued. "And I think that's what he's going to do. And I think he's going to try to demonize and destroy anyone who might stand up against him. And that’s all that this is."

Luntz, who at one point contributed messaging strategies to Newt Gingrich's Contract for America, renounced his longtime Republican affiliation earlier this year.