Tucker Carlson says Trump should not have asked Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden: 'There’s no way to spin this'

Carlson made the highly uncharacteristic comments in his op-ed that was published on Thursday on a right-wing website

UPDATED MAR 13, 2020

Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who is one of the biggest and vociferous supporters of President Donald Trump, criticized him for asking Ukraine to investigate his 2020 rival Joe Biden.

Carlson, who expressed his displeasure over Trump's demands in an op-ed for The Daily Caller on Friday, however, did not see any grounds to impeach Trump.

“Donald Trump should not have been on the phone with a foreign head of state encouraging another country to investigate his political opponent, Joe Biden,” Carlson admitted in the op-ed. Despite multiple attempts by many Republicans and Trump supporters to spin the information, Carlson said "there’s no way to spin this as a good idea".

Trump has been accused of using his official call with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky to force Ukraine into investigating Joe Biden and his son Hunter. According to the whistle-blower who exposed Trump's call, his threat may have also included withholding a White House visit and financial aid to the European nation.

In his op-ed for the right-wing website that he helped set up with co-founder Neil Patel, Carlson wrote, “Our leaders’ official actions should not be about politics… Once those in control of our government use it to advance their political goals, we become just another of the world’s many corrupt countries.”

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a meeting with the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Imran Khan, in the Oval Office at the White House on July 22, 2019 in Washington, DC. This is Khan’s first visit to Washington as Pakistan’s prime minister to discuss relations with the United States. President Trump also spoke about Iran and the Mueller Report. (Getty Images)

He, however, claimed that it was “hard to argue” that Trump should be removed from office for this, suggesting that his actions could not be considered an impeachable offense.

According to some political commentators like CNN's Abby D Phillip, Carlson's statements are reflective of the conservative strategy to stop defending the president blindly.

Independent quoted her as saying, “This is a pretty transparent effort to provide a roadmap for Republicans looking for a way to publicly condemn Trump’s actions but still oppose impeachment."

Carlson, who has been accused of racism, climate change denial and spreading conspiracy theories in the past, has criticized Trump for not following through with his campaign promises as well. “His chief promises were that he would build the wall, defund Planned Parenthood and repeal Obamacare, and he hasn’t done any of those things,” the right-wing host said, adding, “It’s mostly his fault that he hasn’t achieved those things."