Rumors are circulating that disaffected MAGA figures may be forming a new political party, a development that analysts on the "Pod Save America" podcast argue would be detrimental to President Donald Trump and his allies — and, in their words, "a gift to Democrats like you cannot imagine."

In a recent episode of the podcast, former Obama administration officials Jon Favreau and Dan Pfeiffer discussed emerging speculation that former Fox News host Tucker Carlson is considering a presidential run, along with talk that a new political party could form around him. The rumors gained traction after former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, now a vocal Trump critic, posted a photo on X showing herself at Carlson's Maine compound alongside Representative Thomas Massie and Joe Kent, captioned, "The movement has begun."

In a separate post, Greene added: "MAGA was betrayed. We all were. It's time for a new path forward."

Although Carlson has denied having presidential ambitions, he released a "10-point plan for America" last week outlining his vision for the country's future. Favreau, who served as Obama's director of speechwriting, remarked that the plan "sounds pretty 'I'm going to run in 2028.'" Carlson was fired from Fox News in April 2023 and has since built a large independent media presence, giving him a direct communications channel to millions of conservative viewers without the constraints of a traditional network.

Pod Save America co-host Tommy Vieter, a former National Security Council spokesman, has previously expressed concern that Carlson's popularity among the Republican base and his media experience could make him a highly effective political figure. However, Pfeiffer, who was Obama's senior communications adviser, contended that if Carlson ran as a third-party candidate rather than as the Republican nominee, his political threat to Democrats would be neutralized — and he would instead become a significant threat to MAGA-aligned Republicans. The dynamic Pfeiffer describes echoes the well-documented spoiler effect seen in past presidential cycles, such as Ralph Nader's Green Party bid in 2000 and Ross Perot's Reform Party run in 1992, where third-party candidates drew votes disproportionately from one major-party coalition.

"There's been a lot of talk of Tucker Carlson being a formidable presidential candidate because of his media skills, mainly because of his media skills," Pfeiffer said. "That was always under the assumption he would be the Republican nominee, right? Tucker Carlson, a third-party candidate, is a gift to Democrats like you cannot imagine."

He continued: "There aren't a lot of potential John Ossoff, [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, Josh Shapiro voters who are voting for Tucker Carlson, but there are a lot of disillusioned Trump 2024 voters who might vote for Tucker Carlson. That's how you win. So that would be very good news. Like, we should encourage this. This would be great... It does speak to how much the MAGA coalition has truly fractured under Trump's second term, right? Because of Epstein, apparently because of the war, there are these incredibly prominent people with large audiences who have soured on Trump."