Tucker Carlson said he reacted with disbelief upon learning that a donor to President Donald Trump had offered Kimberly Guilfoyle, the U.S. ambassador to Greece, $1 million to arrange an interview on Carlson's podcast — a proposal Carlson says he was never aware of. The account sits at the intersection of political fundraising, government service, and independent media: a donor seeking both publicity and help from the administration, a sitting ambassador described as arranging access, and a podcast host who says he was never in the loop.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Guilfoyle — Donald Trump Jr.'s former fiancée — had discussed setting up an interview for Eric Deters, a Kentucky donor and former congressional candidate who was seeking the Trump administration's help with legal and tax matters.

The report states that Deters agreed to pay Guilfoyle $1 million on the condition that she secure him a spot on Carlson's program. Deters wanted to publicize the case of Abubakar Atiq Durrani, a doctor who fled to Pakistan after being charged with defrauding insurers by performing unnecessary spinal operations. Claiming that he was advising lawyers representing former patients in their legal action against Durrani, Deters also wanted the Justice Department to secure the doctor's extradition.

Guilfoyle told Deters that she was working on the interview. According to messages examined by the Journal, she had been in contact with people in Carlson's circle in December 2024, but the effort did not result in a booking.

Carlson said he had never heard of Deters and did not follow Guilfoyle's activities. He also claimed that she had no influence over his decisions regarding guests.

"A million dollars for a podcast appearance Isn't she the ambassador to Greece? This is completely nuts," Carlson told The Wall Street Journal.

There is no indication that Carlson had agreed to the interview or knew of the proposed payment. That gap — between the alleged arrangement and Carlson's account of events — frames the rest of the reporting, which goes on to document a wider pattern of payments and requests between Guilfoyle and Deters.

The alleged offer was part of a much broader set of dealings between Guilfoyle and Deters, who told the newspaper that he had already paid her $300,000 over several years to attend political events, but that "she never came through on anything."

The Journal also reported that Guilfoyle passed Deters' correspondence to then-IRS Commissioner Billy Long and had discussed contacting senior Justice Department officials.

A larger controversy involves Signal messages the Journal examined shortly before Guilfoyle's Senate confirmation hearing in July 2025. In them, Guilfoyle asked Deters for $100,000 to pay her American Express bill, proposing that he send the money directly to the card company to avoid leaving a visible record.

Jesse Binnall, Guilfoyle's lawyer, questioned the authenticity of the messages without identifying any specific inaccuracies. He also said Guilfoyle deserved compensation for her previous speaking engagements and supported her efforts to advance the allegations against Durrani.

Responding to the $1 million offer involving Carlson, Binnall told The Wall Street Journal: "Ambassador Guilfoyle will never apologize for offering to help shed light on a case in which 1,000 children underwent unnecessary, invasive, and debilitating surgeries at that man's hands."

Source: Alternet