Conor McGregor tells Tucker Carlson that Ireland is governed by people with ill intentions
Conor McGregor's hour-long sit down interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson was released on Friday evening, with the controversial fighter taking aim at what he branded the "ill intentions" of those in Government.
Carlson, a prominent right-wing American commentator who has previously interviewed Vladimir Putin, visited McGregor in his Dublin pub on Tuesday evening to discuss the fighter's plans to run for the presidency later this year.
In the interview, which was filmed in the Grand Lodge of Freemasons in Dublin and broadcast on Carlson's social media channels, McGregor criticised the Government, who he said was responsible for the "erasure of Irish culture" and what he called "mass" immigration.
The former mixed martial arts star also itted that his presidential ambitions may not get off the ground as Ireland is "not a democratic country."
He told Carlson, who was fired by Fox News in 2023, that "like a lot of countries in the western sphere, it [Ireland] is being governed by people with ill intentions of its people."
The Dubliner claimed: "They have not got the interest of their people at, at its heart. However, our country stays strong."
In a segment of the interview referring to "Ireland’s economic crisis," McGregor said the rising cost of living was a "national emergency" without offering solutions.
On the issue of immigration, McGregor continued with his hardline stance, claiming the citizens of Ireland "do not feel like first rate citizens" and "what is going on here is an abomination, a travesty, and it cannot continue for much longer".
He was not challenged on any of his statements by Carlson and went on to accuse the Government of using what he called "intimidation tactics".
On his meeting with US president Trump in the Oval Office on St Patrick's Day, which was sharply criticised by the Government and opposition here, McGregor said: "We had a great moment in the Oval Office with president Trump where we got to speak before the press, in the White House where we got to speak our case, it was the first time it had happened in our history, really."
On the question of tariffs, McGregor said "tariffs are no good for nobody" but he didn't provide any details on what next steps the US or EU should take.
"The people of Ireland are struggling to heat their homes. So there are many people who are seeing this tariff situation as a 'we got you' moment for our Government," he said.
When asked about his ambitions to run for the Áras later this year, McGregor said he was of the belief that "the era of the politician must end", but itted his presidential ambitions may not succeed.
"There are stipulations. You have four county councils which are controlled by the Government parties or you have to get 20 nominations of the Oireachtas, which are mostly party s."
McGregor also told Carlson he doesn’t believe Ireland is a democratic country and that politicians "will have to answer to their constituents at some stage."
When Carlson asked him to respond to CNN's description of him as "the leader of Ireland’s far-right", McGregor said: "All of these terminologies mean nothing to me. I'm a family man. I'm an employer of the country. I'm a er of many people and I care about my land and the safety of its citizens and the prosperity of its citizens."
McGregor is currently appealing the result of a civil case after a jury found he had assaulted Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel room in 2018, and ordered him to pay damages. The case was not raised at any stage during the interview.
