Current:Home > MarketsZyn fan Tucker Carlson ditches brand over politics, but campaign finance shows GOP support-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Zyn fan Tucker Carlson ditches brand over politics, but campaign finance shows GOP support
View Date:2024-12-23 18:30:35
This story was updated to add new information.
Conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, who promoted Zyn nicotine pouches with young, male Youtubers, is now turning on the brand over supposed political differences.
In an interview with apparel and content company Old Row posted Tuesday, Carlson said he is "going through a period of transition" in his life in regards to nicotine pouches.
"I'm embarrassed to say it, it's made by a huge company, huge donors to Kamala Harris, I'm not gonna use that brand anymore," Carlson said. "I mean I think it's fine...for like your girlfriend or whatever, but I don't think men should use that brand. It starts with a 'Z'"
Philip Morris International, the parent company of Zyn, told USA TODAY it does not make political contributions to any presidential campaign.
Sign-up for Your Vote: Text with the USA TODAY elections team.
But its subsidiary Swedish Match North America, which oversees the Zyn brand, operates a political action committee that has spent more than $142,000 on this election through Aug. 31, according to a campaign finance analysis by nonpartisan watchdog OpenSecrets. The analysis shows 70% of contributions to federal candidates went to Republicans and 30% went to Democrats, not including Harris or Donald Trump. The partisan disparity was smaller for party or PAC contributions, but Swedish Match still gave more to Republican groups.
Some individual PMI and subsidiary employees also donated to Trump, Harris or their respective party PACs, Federal Election Commission campaign finance data shows.
More:Sen. Chuck Schumer asks feds to crack down on teen use of Zyn nicotine pouches
Carlson, big Zyn guy, teases his own 'Alp Nicotine Pouches' as he bashes brand
Earlier this year, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., raised alarm bells about Zyn, a nicotine pouch intended to be a better alternative for current users of traditional tobacco products, saying it is becoming a "trend in addiction for teens."
That prompted Republican criticism from the likes of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Ga., who called for a "Zynsurrection."
(PMI pointed to a recent Food and Drug Administration survey saying that nicotine pouch use among youth remains low.)
Carlson talked about his love for Zyn as a nicotine source and claimed it could increase testosterone on the "Full Send" podcast in early 2023. Later that year, the podcast hosts the Nelk Boys gave Carson the "world largest Zyn container," in an Instagram stunt. He also talked about Zyn to podcaster Theo Von, claiming it would make you richer and aid erections (PMI says that claim lacks scientific evidence).
Now Carlson is backing away from his extreme Zyn fandom, and he told Old Row he is starting his own company Alp Nicotine Pouches.
A website under that name reads, "The all-new nicotine pouch by Tucker Carlson. ALP satisfies and frees your mind. At ALP, we believe in a better time."
"It's frustrating that Mr. Carlson wants to turn ZYN into a political football to promote his own business venture," a PMI spokesperson said. Carlson nor representatives with Alp responded to USA TODAY's request for comment.
Carlson is a former Fox News host who parted ways with the network after it reached a $787.5 million settlement in a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems. Carlson tried to stream his content on X before launching the Tucker Carlson Network streaming platform, which currently has an apparel partnership with Old Row.
veryGood! (57)
Related
- Teachers in 3 Massachusetts communities continue strike over pay, paid parental leave
- Neighbor reported smelling gas night before Maryland house explosion
- Trans teens file lawsuit challenging New Hampshire law banning them from girls’ sports
- ESPN fires football analyst Robert Griffin III and host Samantha Ponder, per report
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Mixed Use
- The 10 best non-conference college football games this season
- How Volleyball Player Avery Skinner Is Approaching the 2028 LA Olympics After Silver Medal Win
- NBA schedule 2024-25: Christmas Day games include Lakers-Warriors and 76ers-Celtics
- 'Treacherous conditions' in NYC: Firefighters battling record number of brush fires
- Escaped inmate convicted of murder captured in North Carolina hotel after dayslong manhunt
Ranking
- Tua Tagovailoa tackle: Dolphins QB laughs off taking knee to head vs. Rams on 'MNF'
- What to know about the 5 people charged in Matthew Perry’s death
- Wyoming reporter resigned after admitting to using AI to write articles, generate quotes
- Could Alex Murdaugh get new trial for South Carolina murders of wife and son?
- Father sought in Amber Alert killed by officer, daughter unharmed after police chase in Ohio
- Asteroids safely fly by Earth all the time. Here’s why scientists are watching Apophis.
- Family agrees to settle lawsuit against officer whose police dog killed an Alabama man
- Taylor Swift drops 'Tortured Poets' song with new title seemingly aimed at Kanye West
Recommendation
-
Indiana man is found guilty of murder in the 2017 killings of 2 teenage girls
-
Want a collector cup from McDonald’s adult Happy Meal? Sets are selling online for $125.
-
Jennifer Lopez Visits Ben Affleck on His Birthday Amid Breakup Rumors
-
Police arrest 4 in killing of 'General Hospital' actor Johnny Wactor
-
Taylor Swift Becomes Auntie Tay In Sweet Photo With Fellow Chiefs WAG Chariah Gordon's Daughter
-
Trans teens file lawsuit challenging New Hampshire law banning them from girls’ sports
-
'Ketamine Queen,' doctors, director: A look at the 5 charged in Matthew Perry's death
-
Wrongful death suit against Disney serves as a warning to consumers when clicking ‘I agree’