Kevin Spacey made a genre-blurring and logic-defying cameo on Tucker Carlson’s online show on Sunday, remaining in character from his House of Cards role the entire time.
The 64-year-old expounded on topics ranging from the 2024 presidential election to doing “a line of blow” and hitting “a reindeer with my car.” Spacey attempted a metacommentary on cancel culture and what he depicted as America’s current malaise, amounting to a maximally cursed version of former President Jimmy Carter’s “Crisis of Confidence” speech from 1979.
In the seven-minute exchange shared by Carlson on X, Spacey delivers a stump speech for a fictional 2024 presidential bid.
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“Let’s stop blaming bots and college kids,” Spacey said in his faux South Carolinian accent, “and start telling leaders what leadership really means.”
“I love it,” Carlson responded, ostensibly playing himself. “But how do you do that?”
Spacey went on a rant about “trigger warnings” and how “we coddled everybody,” eliciting an “amen” from Carlson. The disgraced actor also leaned heavily on his direct-to-camera schtick from the Netflix show, wishing the audience a “Merry Christmas to you too.”
“But I’ve always believed that nothing should be off the table, in life or in art,” Spacey said when Carlson asked if he’s running for president in 2024. “I think we could both agree that we need to get some adults back in the room, so, if that means taking on the chief executive role, well that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make for this great nation.”
Spacey included some vague holiday pleasantries on Christmas Eve, saying, “It’s just good enough to sip some eggnog, decorate the tree, and listen to ‘White Christmas,’ and embrace all the things that make this such a special day.”
In another aside to the camera, Spacey said he’s actually no fan of holiday traditions. “The truth is,” Spacey said, awkwardly remaining in character, “I love nothing better on this day than to do a line of blow, drink a whiskey and Coke, hit a reindeer with my car, and wish you all the naughtiest Christmas ever.”
Following accusations of sexual misconduct from more than a dozen men—with some alleging that Spacey assaulted them when they were minors—the Oscar-winning actor has managed to avoid any convictions or losses in the lawsuits filed against him, both domestically and abroad.
“You know, you and I have something in common, actually,” Carlson said later in the interview.
“Oh yes, we both got canned by our networks,” Spacey said.
Carlson asked him to “reflect on all the drama” around him but did not explicitly reference the accusations. Spacey went on a diatribe about “legacy media,” predicting his appearance on X “would be a good example.” Spacey also told Carlson he still watches Netflix “about as much as you still watch Fox.”
“Netflix exists because of me,” Spacey said at another point. “I put them on the map, and they tried to put me in the ground.”
As the two fallen famous white men bonded over a crackling fire with palm trees visible from the outside, Spacey asked if Carlson would be his vice president, and compared former Vice President Mike Pence’s campaign to “jumping in the Jacuzzi with a boner—you know it ain’t gonna last forever.”
As the pow-wow with Carlson devolved into an airing of grievances between two men insisting they’re still just as culturally relevant as they were back in 2017, Spacey said, “Here we are, Tucker, bigger than ever.”
