Ex-Fox News host used wild conspiracy theory to turn Trump against Rubio for VP: NYT

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson reportedly played a key role in getting former President Donald Trump to select Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) as his running mate -- and he played on Trump's own paranoia to get the job done.

The New York Times reports that Carlson intervened to lobby for Vance after he'd heard that Trump was considering going with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) as a more establishment-friendly choice.

"Mr. Carlson, who was visiting Australia on a speaking tour, phoned Mr. Trump and delivered an apocalyptic warning, according to two people briefed on their conversation," reports the Times. "He told Mr. Trump that Mr. Rubio could not be trusted — that he would work against him and would try to lead America into nuclear war."

As if this weren't enough, Carlson claimed that the "deep state" would be much happier to have Rubio running the show and would try to assassinate Trump to make it happen.

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Carlson also urged Trump not to heed the advice of Fox News' Rupert Murdoch, who had been urging him to go with more of an establishment pick such as Rubio or North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgham.

"When your enemies are pushing a running mate on you, it’s a pretty good sign you should ignore them," Carlson told Trump, according to the Times.