Conor McGregor’s interview with right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson has been shared online.
The disgraced UFC fighter was interviewed by Carlson, who was fired from Fox News in 2023, in the Freemasons Hall in Dublin, with the pair discussing McGregor’s upbringing to his potential Presidential run.
Here are some of the talking points from McGregor’s interview.
PRESIDENCY
Despite being adamant that he will run for the President of Ireland later this year, McGregor wouldn’t outright say yes or no to potentially running for the ceremonial role — and suggested that he’s being held back from running.
‘There’s these stipulations. You have to get four county councils, which are controlled by the government parties, or you have to get 20 nominations [from members of] the Oireachtas, which are all mostly party affiliates,’ McGregor said. You can’t just run for President.’ He then agreed with Carlson’s suggestion that Ireland is ‘not a democracy’ but failed to mention that he could easily run as a TD or Councillor.
When asked when he would have to announce he’s running for President, McGregor surprisingly kept mum, saying, ‘I’m just gonna keep… requesting a democratic process to play out and allow the people to decide and see where it falls.’
Tucker Carlson. TUCKER CARLSON/YOUTUBE
ROSIE O’DONNELL
Despite McGregor speaking about illegal immigration during his interview, he took a somewhat moderate approach to Donald Trump’s fiercest critic, Rosie O’Donnell, who moved to Ireland after Mr Trump won a second Presidential term.
When asked by Carlson if a potential President McGregor would find the power to deport her, McGregor simply asked several questions, including if she came to Ireland legally, if she’s assimilated, and if she’s ‘an upstanding member of our community.’
A guffawing Carlson told McGregor that she doesn’t hold the beliefs of the Irish people (he didn’t disclose what he thinks those beliefs are), with McGregor saying if she isn’t, then she’s gotta go,’ before adding that he doesn’t wish ill of her.
WEXFORD HOTELS
With immigration and IPAS being a hot-button issue nationwide, McGregor singled out Wexford as part of the ‘immigration racket,’ saying that there are no hotels in the city.
There is [sic] no hotels available in Wexford,’ McGregor said. ‘They’re all transferred into IPAS, which are international protection applicant services. It’s this racket where they’re all getting housed.’
Both during and after the interview, a search on hotel booking websites found that there are, in fact, hotels available in Wexford.
Conor McGregor. TUCKER CARLSON/YOUTUBE
GARDA ‘TRAFFIC RACKET’
McGregor also took aim at the Gardaí over their traffic unit, which he claimed is a ‘money racket.’
McGregor is currently suspended from driving for two years after he was convicted of dangerous driving. He went on to speculate over ‘the amount of suicides, the amount of lives lost and families destroyed over the stress of the traffic corps.’
Carlson didn’t ask McGregor about his more serious legal issues, including his being found liable for sexually assaulting Nikita Hand in civil court.
Conor McGregor with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in March 2025.
TRUMP
Despite the scenes on St Patrick’s Day showing McGregor palling about with current US President Donald Trump, he seemed to be semi-critical of Mr Trump during his first term.
McGregor said that he was at both inaugurations of Mr Trump, with him admitting that there was an ‘uncertainty’ at the first term, he thought Mr Trump ‘done well [sic].’
However, he appeared to say that towards the end of Mr Trump’s first term, things went a bit south — saying ‘there may have been times as a leader of a country, you almost need to cool the flames. Maybe there were some things that might have fanned the flames towards the end of his term. But this time around, I feel he is off to a good start.’
* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.
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