Author reveals the influential 'movement leader' poised to usurp MAGA from Trump

There's one influential "movement leader" who appears ready to usurp President Donald Trump's MAGA crown, an author revealed on Wednesday.

Political analysts and observers have wondered for months who will become the next MAGA leader when Trump leaves office. Some have speculated that Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are the top candidates, while Trump whisperer Steve Bannon has also positioned himself to take over the movement.

Jason Zengerle, author of "Hated By All the Right People," revealed during an interview with Joanna Coles on "The Daily Beast Podcast" that Tucker Carlson, the subject of his book, is in the best position to take over the MAGA movement. Zengerle said Carlson is already playing the part of a "movement leader" with his media company.

"He's more than just a podcaster," Zengerle said. "He's more than a media figure. He's kind of a movement leader at this point, and one of the reasons I wanted to write the book was ... there's a tendency, especially among liberals, to just kind of dismiss him and ignore him and think that he's just a podcaster who has an audience. It's all about clicks and downloads, and he's just saying this stuff for money and ratings. And I actually don't think that's the case."

Carlson has become a mercurial figure to MAGA. Last year, he interviewed avowed antisemite and white nationalist Nick Fuentes on his popular podcast, a move that caused a schism in Trump's base.

The Heritage Foundation's leader, Kevin Roberts, defended Carlson's interview, which was met with swift backlash by his staff, many of whom resigned from their jobs over his comments.