If you've been following rightwing media watch for a minute, this should be obvious to you.
And to the three comments yeeting the baby, just stfu.
This move from Tucker is about Tucker. You may, and rightfully should, despise Tucker Carlson. But you should not underestimate Tucker Carlson. Tucker Carlson has always, and I do mean always (for practical purposes) has one of the best reads of the direction of travel in national politics. He was one of the first to get on the America First wagon, and saw the potential Trump represented in national politics in 2015. They understood this because they had the ability to read the room with regard to the latent frustration people had with both Republicans and Democrats in that time period.
Tucker sees where the motion is and anyone who isn't a totally ley read of politics has known that Mike Rodgers is an extremely poor opponent to be going up against El Sayed. Tucker doesn't want to be on the wrong side of a losing election. Simple as.
This gives Tucker access and to be on the side of motion. America First and MAGA are shifting. Myself and others have been making this point for a while. Hogs don't lead. Pay attention to the first movers. Trump's base will move on to where the first movers go. Owens, Carlson, Fuentes, pay attention to where these actors go and you'll know where things are heading.
This is Tucker setting up for a 2028 run. It has almost nothing to do with El Sayed other than not being tethered to a floundering brand. They're setting themselves up to be the savior of MAGA in 2028.