Tucker Carlson
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Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson (born May 16, 1969) is an American television host,
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
political commentator A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport). Origins The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...
and writer who has hosted the nightly political talk show ''
Tucker Carlson Tonight ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' is an American talk show and current affairs program hosted by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson on the television network Fox News. The show premiered in November 2016 and includes political commentary, monolog ...
'' on
Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
since 2016. Carlson began his media career in the 1990s, writing for ''
The Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis and commentary, published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' had been described as a "red ...
'' and other publications. He was a
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
commentator from 2000 to 2005 and a co-host of the network's
prime-time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
news debate program ''
Crossfire A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I. ...
'' from 2001 to 2005. From 2005 to 2008, he hosted the nightly program ''
Tucker Tucker may refer to: Places United States * Tucker, Arkansas * Tucker, Georgia * Tucker, Mississippi * Tucker, Missouri * Tucker, Utah, ghost town * Tucker County, West Virginia Outer space * Tucker (crater), a small lunar impact crater in the s ...
'' on
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
. He has been a
political analyst Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
for Fox News since 2009, appearing as guest or
guest host {{Unreferenced, date=January 2009 A guest host (or guest presenter in the United Kingdom) is a host, usually of a talk show, that hosts the program in lieu of the regular host if they fall ill, have another project or commitment, or are unable to h ...
on various programs before the launch of his current show. In 2010, Carlson co-founded and served as the initial editor-in-chief of the right-wing news and opinion website ''
The Daily Caller ''The Daily Caller'' is a right-wing news and opinion website based in Washington, D.C. It was founded by now-Fox News host Tucker Carlson and political pundit Neil Patel in 2010. Launched as a "conservative answer to ''The Huffington Post'' ...
'', until selling his ownership stake and leaving in 2020. He has written three books: '' Politicians, Partisans, and Parasites'' (2003), ''
Ship of Fools The ship of fools is an allegory, originating from Book VI of Plato's ''Republic'', about a ship with a dysfunctional crew. The allegory is intended to represent the problems of governance prevailing in a political system not based on expert kn ...
'' (2018), and '' The Long Slide'' (2021). An advocate of former U.S. president
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
, Carlson was described by ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
'' as "perhaps the highest-profile proponent of '
Trumpism Trumpism is a term for the political ideologies, social emotions, style of governance, political movement, and set of mechanisms for acquiring and keeping control of power associated with Donald Trump and his political base. '' Trumpists ...
'" and as willing to criticize Trump when he believed that the former president was straying from that ideology. He was said to have influenced some of Trump's decisions as president, including the cancellation of a military strike against Iran in 2019, the firing of
John Bolton John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United Sta ...
, and the commutation of
Roger Stone Roger Jason Stone (born Roger Joseph Stone Jr.; August 27, 1952) is an American conservative political consultant and lobbyist. Since the 1970s, Stone has worked on the campaigns of Republican politicians, including Richard Nixon, Ronald Rea ...
's prison sentence in 2020. Carlson has been described as a leading voice of white grievance politics. He is known for circulating
far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
ideas into mainstream politics and discourse. His remarks on
race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
,
immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
, and womenincluding slurs he said on air between 2006 and 2011 (which resurfaced in 2019)have at times been described as
racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
and sexist, and have provoked advertiser boycotts of ''Tucker Carlson Tonight''. It is one of the most watched cable news shows in the United States. Carlson is a vocal opponent of
progressivism Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, tec ...
and critic of immigration, and has been described as a
nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
. Formerly an economic
libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
, he now supports
protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...
. In 2004, he renounced his initial support for the
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
, and has since been skeptical of U.S. foreign
interventions ''Interventions'' is a book by Noam Chomsky, an American academic linguist and political activist. Published in May 2007, ''Interventions'' is a collection of 44 op-ed articles, post-9/11, from September 2002, through March 2007. The book's sub ...
. Carlson has promoted
conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...
on topics such as demographic "replacement",
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, and the
January 6 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then-U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The mob was seeking to keep Trump in pow ...
; and has been noted for false and misleading statements about those topics and a number of others.


Early life and education

Carlson was born Tucker McNear Carlson in the
Mission District The Mission District (Spanish: ''Distrito de la Misión''), commonly known as The Mission (Spanish: ''La Misión''), is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. One of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco, the Mission District's name is ...
of San Francisco, California, on May 16, 1969. He is the elder son of artist and San Francisco native Lisa McNear () (19452011) and Dick Carlson (1941), a former " gonzo reporter" who became the director of
Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...
, president of the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to non-commercial, ...
and the U.S. ambassador to the Seychelles, and more recently a director at the lobbying firm Policy Impact Strategic Communications. Carlson's brother, Buckley Peck Carlson, later Buckley Swanson Peck Carlson, is nearly two years younger and has worked as a communications manager and
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
political operative. Carlson's paternal grandparents were Richard Boynton and Dorothy Anderson, who were teenagers when they placed his father at
The Home for Little Wanderers The Home for Little Wanderers is a private non-profit child and family service agency. It has been part of the Massachusetts landscape for more than 200 years, making it the oldest agency of its kind in the nation and one of the largest in New Eng ...
orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...
where he was fostered by Carl Moberger of Malden, near Boston, a
tannery Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
worker of Swedish descent, and his wife Florence Moberger. Carlson's father was adopted at the age of two by
upper-middle-class In sociology, the upper middle class is the social group constituted by higher status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term ''lower middle class'', which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle-class strat ...
New Englanders, the Carlsons, an executive at the Winslow Brothers & Smith Tannery of Norwood (the oldest tannery in America) and his wife. Carlson's maternal great-great-grandfather Cesar Lombardi immigrated to New York from
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
in 1860. Carlson is also a distant relative of
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
politicians
Ebenezer R. Hoar Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar (February 21, 1816 – January 31, 1895) was an American politician, lawyer, and jurist from Massachusetts. He served as U.S. Attorney General from 1869 to 1870, and was the first head of the newly created Department of Jus ...
and George M. Brooks and is a great-great-great-grandson to Californian rancher
Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical ref ...
. Carlson himself was named after his great-great-great-grandfather Dr. J. C. Tucker and his great-great-grandfather George W. McNear. Carlson is of English, German and one sixteenth Swiss-Italian ancestry. In 1976, Carlson's parents divorced after the nine-year marriage reportedly "turned sour". Carlson's father was granted custody of Tucker and his brother. Carlson's mother left the family when he was six, wanting to pursue a "
bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...
" lifestyle. When Carlson was in first grade, his father moved Tucker and his brother to the
La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...
neighborhood of
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
, California, and raised them there. Carlson attended
La Jolla Country Day School La Jolla Country Day School (known informally as "Country Day" or "LJCDS") is an independent school in University City, a community of San Diego, California. The school contains a lower school (consisting of nursery through fourth grade), a m ...
and grew up in a home overlooking the
La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club The La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club is a private social club located on the shores of the La Jolla area of San Diego, California. History The first foundation for the club began in 1927, when the area was designated for a private yacht club. The l ...
. His father owned property in
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
,
Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
, and islands in Maine and
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
. In 1984, his father unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Republican Mayor
Roger Hedgecock Roger Allan Hedgecock (born May 2, 1946) is an American politician and conservative talk radio host, who served as 30th mayor of San Diego between May 1983 and December 1985. His show is syndicated by Radio America. Early life Hedgecock was bor ...
in the San Diego mayoral race. In 1979, Carlson's father married divorcée Patricia Caroline Swanson, an heiress to Swanson Enterprises, daughter of Gilbert Carl Swanson and niece of Senator
J. William Fulbright James William Fulbright (April 9, 1905 – February 9, 1995) was an American politician, academic, and statesman who represented Arkansas in the United States Senate from 1945 until his resignation in 1974. , Fulbright is the longest serving chair ...
. Though Patricia remained a beneficiary of the family fortune, the Swansons had sold the brand to the
Campbell Soup Company Campbell Soup Company, trade name, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has gro ...
in 1955 and did not own it by the time of Carlson's father's marriage. Carlson was briefly enrolled at
Collège du Léman Collège du Léman (CDL) is a Swiss boarding and day school, for boys and girls from 2 to 18 years old, currently based in Versoix, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It has approximately 1900 students representing more than 100 nationalities and has ...
, a boarding school in Switzerland, but said he was "kicked out". He attained his secondary education at St. George's School, a boarding school in
Middletown, Rhode Island Middletown is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,075 at the 2020 census. It lies to the south of Portsmouth and to the north of Newport on Aquidneck Island, hence the name "Middletown". History Vari ...
, where he started dating his future wife, Susan Andrews, the headmaster's daughter. He then went to
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
in
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
, graduating in 1991 with a BA in history. Carlson's Trinity yearbook describes him as a member of the "
Dan White Daniel James White (September 2, 1946 – October 21, 1985) was an American politician who assassinated San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, on Monday, November 27, 1978, at City Hall. White was convicted of manslaugh ...
Society", an apparent reference to the American political assassin who murdered San Francisco Mayor
George Moscone George Richard Moscone (; November 24, 1929 – November 27, 1978) was an American attorney and Democratic politician. He was the 37th mayor of San Francisco, California from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978. He was known ...
and Supervisor
Harvey Milk Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978) was an American politician and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk was born and raised in N ...
. After college, Carlson tried to join the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
, but his application was denied, after which he decided to pursue a career in journalism with the encouragement of his father, who advised him that "they'll take anybody".


Media career

Carlson began his career in journalism as a
fact-checker Fact-checking is the process of verifying factual information, in order to promote the veracity and correctness of reporting. Fact-checking can be conducted before (''ante hoc'') or after (''post hoc'') the text is published or otherwise dissem ...
for ''
Policy Review ''Policy Review'' was a conservative journal published between 1977 to 2013. It was founded by The Heritage Foundation and was for many years the foundation's flagship publication.Gillian Peele, 'American Conservatism in Historical Perspective', i ...
'', a national
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
journal then published by
The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (abbreviated to Heritage) is an American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. that is primarily geared toward public policy. The foundation took a leading role in the conservative movement during the presiden ...
and later acquired by the
Hoover Institution The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace; abbreviated as Hoover) is an American public policy think tank and research institution that promotes personal and economic liberty, free enterprise, and ...
. He then worked as an opinion writer at the ''
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette The ''Arkansas Democrat-Gazette'' is the newspaper of record in the U.S. state of Arkansas, printed in Little Rock with a northwest edition published in Lowell. It is distributed for sale in all 75 of Arkansas' counties. By virtue of one of i ...
'' newspaper in
Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...
, before joining ''
The Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis and commentary, published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' had been described as a "red ...
''
news magazine A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories, in greater depth than do newspapers or new ...
in 1995. Carlson sought a role with the publication after hearing of its founding, fearing he would be "written off as a wing nut" if he instead joined ''
The American Spectator ''The American Spectator'' is a conservative American magazine covering news and politics, edited by R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. and published by the non-profit American Spectator Foundation. It was founded in 1967 by Tyrrell, who remains its editor- ...
''. In 1999, Carlson interviewed then-Governor
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
for ''
Talk Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...
'' magazine. He quoted Bush mocking
Karla Faye Tucker Karla Faye Tucker (November 18, 1959 – February 3, 1998) was an American woman sentenced to death for killing two people with a pickaxe during a burglary. She was the first woman to be executed in the United States since Velma Barfield in 1984 ...
(who was executed in Bush's state of
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
) and frequently using the word "
fuck ''Fuck'' is an English-language expletive. It often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested to aro ...
". The piece led to bad publicity for Bush's 2000 presidential campaign. Bush claimed that "Mr. Carlson misread, mischaracterized me. He's a good reporter, he just misunderstood about how serious that was. I take the death penalty very seriously." Among liberals, Carlson's piece received praise, with Democratic consultant
Bob Shrum Robert M. "Bob" Shrum (born July 21, 1943) is the Director of the Center for the Political Future and the Carmen H. and Louis Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics at the University of Southern California, where he is a Professor of the Practice o ...
calling it "vivid". Carlson said of the interview, "I thought I'd be ragged for writing a puffy piece. My wife said people are going to think you're hunting for a job in the Bush campaign." Further into his career in print, Carlson worked as a columnist for ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
'' magazine and ''
Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...
''; writing for ''
Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
'', ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'', ''
The Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis and commentary, published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' had been described as a "red ...
'', ''
The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...
'', ''
The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...
'', ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
'', and ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''.
John F. Harris John F. Harris is an American political journalist and the co-founder of ''Politico'', an Arlington, Virginia-based political news organization. With former partner Jim VandeHei, Harris founded ''Politico'' on January 23, 2007, and served as ed ...
of ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
'' would later remark on how Carlson was "viewed... as an important voice of the intelligentsia" during this period. While working on a story for ''New York'' covering the
Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
, Carlson, alongside his father, was involved in a
plane crash An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of fl ...
as it made its landing on a runway in
Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
on October 17, 2001. Carlson's 2003 ''Esquire'' profile on his journey to
Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
alongside Reverend
Al Sharpton Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American civil rights activist, Baptist minister, talk show host and politician. Sharpton is the founder of the National Action Network. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democrati ...
and other
civil and political rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...
activists would garner a nomination at the
National Magazine Awards The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...
. In his early television career Carlson wore
bow tie The bow tie is a type of necktie. A modern bow tie is tied using a common shoelace knot, which is also called the bow knot for that reason. It consists of a ribbon of fabric tied around the collar of a shirt in a symmetrical manner so that th ...
s, a habit from boarding school he continued on air until 2006. On June 21, 2021, ''New York Times'' reporter Ben Smith reported that Carlson was a media source for several journalists and authors including
Michael Isikoff Michael Isikoff (born June 16, 1952) is an American investigative journalist who is currently the Chief Investigative Correspondent at Yahoo! News. He is the co-author with David Corn of the book titled '' Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Pu ...
, Michael Wolff,
Brian Stelter Brian Patrick Stelter (born September 3, 1985) is an American journalist best known as the former chief media correspondent for CNN and host of the CNN program '' Reliable Sources'', roles he held from 2013 to 2022. Stelter is also a former medi ...
, and others who wrote critically of Donald Trump.


CNN (2000–2005)

In 2000, Carlson co-hosted the short-lived show ''The Spin Room'' on
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
. In 2001, he was appointed co-host of ''
Crossfire A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I. ...
'', in which Carlson and
Robert Novak Robert David Sanders Novak (February 26, 1931 – August 18, 2009) was an American syndicated columnist, journalist, television personality, author, and conservative political commentator. After working for two newspapers before serving in the ...
represented the
political right Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, auth ...
(alternating on different nights), while
James Carville Chester James Carville Jr. (born October 25, 1944) is an American political consultant, author, and occasional actor who has strategized for candidates for public office in the United States and in at least 23 nations abroad. A Democrat, he is an ...
and
Paul Begala Paul Edward Begala (born May 12, 1961) is an American political consultant and political commentator, best known as the former advisor to President Bill Clinton. Begala was a chief strategist for the 1992 Clinton–Gore campaign, which carried ...
, also alternating as hosts, represented the left. Carlson's 2003 interview with
Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
, wherein he asked if she opposed the ongoing
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
and she responded, " should just trust our president in every decision he makes", was featured in the 2004 film '' Fahrenheit 9/11'', for which she won a
Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress The Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress is an award presented annually at the Golden Raspberry Awards (or "Razzies") to the worst supporting actress of the previous year. Nominees and winners are voted on by the Golden Raspberry F ...
at the 25th Golden Raspberry Awards.


Jon Stewart debate

In October 2004, comedian and ''
The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...
'' host
Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted ''The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts ''Th ...
appeared on ''Crossfire'', ostensibly to promote ''
America (The Book) ''America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction'' is a 2004 humor book written by Jon Stewart and other writers of ''The Daily Show'' that parodies and satirizes American politics and worldview. It has won several awards, and gene ...
'', but he instead launched into a critique of ''Crossfire'', saying the show was harmful to political discourse in the U.S. Carlson was singled out by Stewart for criticism, with Carlson in turn criticizing Stewart for being biased toward the left. Carlson and Begala later recalled that Stewart and one of the book's co-authors,
Ben Karlin Ben Karlin (born c. 1971) is an American television producer and writer. He has won eight Emmy awards, and is best known for his work in ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'' and ''The Colbert Report''. He is one of three co-creators of ''The Colb ...
, stayed at CNN for more than an hour after the show to discuss the issues he had raised on the air, with Carlson saying, "It was heartfelt. tewartneeded to do this." In 2017, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' referred to Stewart's "on-air dressing-down" of Carlson as an "ignominious career oment for Carlson, leading to the show's cancellation. ''The Atlantic'' suggested that Stewart's appearance was a turning point leading to how Carlson remade himself. On January 5, 2005, CNN chief Jonathan Klein told Carlson the network had decided not to renew his contract. CNN announced that it was ending its relationship with Carlson and would soon cancel ''Crossfire''. Carlson later said: "I resigned from ''Crossfire'' in April 004 many months before Jon Stewart came on our show, because I didn't like the
partisanship A partisan is a committed member of a political party or army. In multi-party systems, the term is used for persons who strongly support their party's policies and are reluctant to compromise with political opponents. A political partisan is no ...
, and I thought in some ways it was kind of a pointless conversation."


PBS (2004–2005)

Carlson was hired to helm a new program for
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
in November 2003, ''Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered'', which ran synchronously with Carlson's ''Crossfire'' gig on CNN. The show launched on June 18, 2004, and was, according to ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', "part of a broader effort to push PBS further to the right ideologically". Carlson announced he was leaving the show roughly a year after it started on June 12, 2005, despite the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to non-commercial, ...
allocating money for another show season. Carlson wanted to focus on his new
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
show ''
Tucker Tucker may refer to: Places United States * Tucker, Arkansas * Tucker, Georgia * Tucker, Mississippi * Tucker, Missouri * Tucker, Utah, ghost town * Tucker County, West Virginia Outer space * Tucker (crater), a small lunar impact crater in the s ...
'' and said that although PBS was one of the "least bad" instances of government spending he disagreed with, it was still "problematic".


MSNBC (2005–2008)

Carlson's early evening show ''Tucker'' (originally titled ''The Situation With Tucker Carlson'') premiered on June 13, 2005, on
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
.
Rachel Maddow Rachel Anne Maddow (, ; born April 1, 1973) is an American television news program host and liberal political commentator. Maddow hosts ''The Rachel Maddow Show'', a weekly television show on MSNBC, and serves as the cable network's special eve ...
and
Jay Severin James Thompson Severino III (January 8, 1951 – July 7, 2020), known professionally as Jay Severin, was an American political talk radio personality and Republican political consultant. Severin worked mostly in Boston, at WTKK (now WBQT) and a ...
featured as guests on a rotating panel. He also hosted a late-afternoon weekday wrap-up for the network during the
2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...
. He appeared live from Israel during the
2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...
between Israel and
Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...
in southern Lebanon and reported the aftermath of the
Virginia Tech shooting The Virginia Tech shooting was a spree shooting that occurred on April 16, 2007, comprising two attacks on the campus of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. Seung-Hui Cho, an u ...
and
Johnson Space Center shooting The Johnson Space Center shooting was an incident of Hostage situation, hostage taking that occurred on April 20, 2007 in Building 44, the Communication and Tracking Development Laboratory, at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, ...
in 2007. ''Tucker'' was canceled by the network on March 10, 2008, owing to low ratings; the final episode aired on March 14, 2008. He remained with the network as a senior campaign correspondent for the 2008 election.
Brian Stelter Brian Patrick Stelter (born September 3, 1985) is an American journalist best known as the former chief media correspondent for CNN and host of the CNN program '' Reliable Sources'', roles he held from 2013 to 2022. Stelter is also a former medi ...
, writing for ''The New York Times'', wrote that "during Mr. Carlson's tenure, MSNBC's evening programming moved gradually to the left. His former time slots, 6:00p.m. and 9:00p.m., were subsequently occupied by two liberals,
Ed Schultz Edward Andrew Schultz (January 27, 1954 – July 5, 2018) was an American television and radio host, political commentator, news anchor and sports broadcaster. He was the host of '' The Ed Show'', a weekday news talk program on MSNBC fro ...
and Rachel Maddow." Carlson said the network had changed a lot and "they didn't have a role for me".


Media outside journalism (2006–2008)

Carlson was a contestant on
season 3 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...
of the reality show ''
Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...
'', which aired in 2006; he was paired with professional dancer
Elena Grinenko Elena Grinenko is a professional ballroom dance champion, choreographer, and instructor. She is best known as one of the professional dancers on the American television series ''Dancing with the Stars''. Biography Grinenko was born in Moscow, Russ ...
. Carlson took four-hour-a-day
ballroom dance Ballroom dance is a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television. ...
classes to prepare. In an interview a month before the show began, he lamented that he would miss classes during a two-week-long MSNBC assignment in Lebanon, saying, "It's hard for me to remember the moves." Carlson said he accepted ABC's invitation to perform because "I don't do things that I'm not good at very often. I'm psyched to get to do that." Carlson was the first contestant eliminated, on September 13, 2006. Carlson had
cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...
s as himself in the Season1 episode " Hard Ball" of '' 30 Rock'' and in a Season9 episode of ''
The King of Queens ''The King of Queens'' is an American television sitcom that ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007, a total of nine seasons and 207 episodes. The series was created by Michael J. Weithorn and David Litt, who also served as the show ...
''. He had a cameo appearance in the 2008 film '' Swing Vote'', again playing himself.


Fox News Channel (2009–present)

In May 2009,
Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
announced that Carlson was being hired as a Fox News contributor. He was a frequent guest panelist on Fox's late-night satire show ''
Red Eye w/Greg Gutfeld ''Red Eye'', also known as ''Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld'' from 2007 to 2015 and ''Red Eye w/ Tom Shillue'' from 2015 to 2017, was an American late-night/early-morning satirical talk show on Fox News, which aired at 3:00 a.m. ET Tuesday throu ...
'', made frequent appearances on the All-Star Panel segment of ''
Special Report with Bret Baier '' Special Report with Bret Baier'' (formerly ''Special Report with Brit Hume'') is an American television news and political commentary program, hosted by Bret Baier since 2009, that airs on Fox News Channel. It is broadcast live each Monday thr ...
'', was a substitute host of ''
Hannity ''Hannity'' is an American conservative television political talk program on Fox News hosted by Sean Hannity. Episodes air live at 9:00 p.m. from Monday through Thursday, while episodes that air on Fridays are pre-recorded, with a repeat ...
'' in
Sean Hannity Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of ''The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commentar ...
's absence, and produced and hosted a special entitled ''Fighting for Our Children's Minds'' in September 2010. On the eve of then-President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
's first debate with
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
in October 2012, Carlson publicized a 2007 video recording of then-
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
Obama criticizing the federal government's response to
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
and complimenting his pastor at the time, Reverend
Jeremiah Wright Jeremiah Alvesta Wright Jr. (born September 22, 1941) is a pastor emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, a congregation he led for 36 years, during which its membership grew to over 8,000 parishioners. Following retirement, his be ...
. Wright's sermons had been a
controversy Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...
in Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. Portions of the video had been available online since 2007. An anonymous user going by the name "Sore Throwt" (a pun on famous
Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...
informant Deep Throat) had been looking for a buyer of the tape for a week before Carlson distributed it. In April 2013, Carlson replaced Dave Briggs as a co-host of '' Fox & Friends Weekend'', joining
Alisyn Camerota Alisyn Lane Camerota (born June 21, 1966) is an American broadcast journalist and political commentator. She currently co-hosts CNN Newsroom from 2-4 pm with Victor Blackwell. She formerly was anchor of CNN's morning show '' New Day'' and a p ...
and
Clayton Morris Clayton Morris (born December 31, 1976) is an American real estate investor and former television news anchor. He is also host of the ''Investing in Real Estate'' podcast along with YouTube channel ''Redacted''. After co-hosting '' The Daily Buz ...
on Saturday and Sunday mornings.


''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' (2016–present)

On November 14, 2016, Carlson began hosting ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' on Fox News. The premiere episode of the show, which replaced '' On the Record'', was the network's most watched telecast of the year in the time slot, with 3.7 million viewers. ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' aired at 7:00p.m. each weeknight until January 9, 2017, when Carlson's show replaced
Megyn Kelly Megyn Marie Kelly (; born November 18, 1970) is an American journalist and media personality. She currently hosts a talk show and podcast, ''The Megyn Kelly Show'', that airs live daily on SiriusXM. She was a talk show host at Fox News from 200 ...
at the 9:00p.m. time slot after she left Fox News. In January 2017, ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' reported that the show had "scored consistently high ratings, averaging 2.8 million viewers per night and ranking as the number two cable news program behind ''The O'Reilly Factor'' in December." In March 2017, ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' was the most watched cable program in the 9:00p.m. time slot. On April 19, 2017, Fox News announced that ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' would air at 8:00p.m. following the cancellation of ''
The O'Reilly Factor ''The O'Reilly Factor'' (originally titled ''The O'Reilly Report'' and also known as ''The Factor'') is an American cable television news and talk show. ''The O'Reilly Factor'' first aired in the United States on Fox News Channel on October 7 ...
''. ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' was the third-highest-rated cable news show as of March 2018. In October 2018, ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' was the second highest-rated cable news show in prime time, after ''The Sean Hannity Show'' with Sean Hannity, with 3.2 million nightly viewers. By the end of 2018, the show had begun to be boycotted by at least 20 advertisers after Carlson said
immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
makes the country "poorer, dirtier and more divided". According to Fox News, the advertisers only moved their ad buys to other programs. By January 2019, his show dropped to third with 2.8 million nightly viewers, down six percent from the previous year. The show had lost at least 26 advertisers. There were calls to fire Carlson from Fox News in March 2019 after
Media Matters Media Matters for America (MMfA) is a politically left-leaning 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization and media watchdog group. MMfA was founded in 2004 by journalist and political activist David Brock as a counterweight to the conservative Media ...
resurfaced remarks he had made over several years to the radio show ''
Bubba the Love Sponge Bubba the Love Sponge Clem (born Todd Alan Clem, April 23, 1966) is an American radio personality who hosts ''The Bubba the Love Sponge Show'' on the radio station WWBA in Tampa, Florida, and the subscription service Bubba Army Radio. He can al ...
'' concerning women (calling them "like dogs" and "extremely primitive") and
statutory rape In common law jurisdictions, statutory rape is nonforcible sexual activity in which one of the individuals is below the age of consent (the age required to legally consent to the behavior). Although it usually refers to adults engaging in sexual ...
,
Iraqis Iraqis ( ar, العراقيون, ku, گه‌لی عیراق, gelê Iraqê) are people who originate from the country of Iraq. Iraq consists largely of most of ancient Mesopotamia, the native land of the indigenous Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, ...
, and immigrants. His ratings rose eight percent that week despite the boycotts. By August 2019, Media Matters calculated that some companies had fulfilled their media buy contracts and advertising inventory for the time slot and had now begun their purchases for other time slots on Fox News. At the close of 2019, Carlson's Nielsen ratings among all viewers 25–54 placed him second only to Fox's ''The Sean Hannity Show'' among cable news shows. In December 2019, ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...
'' model
Karen McDougal Karen McDougal (born March 23, 1971) is an American model and actress. She is known for her appearances in ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month for December 1997 and Playmate of the Year of 1998.Fegley, Richard, & Wayda, Stephen (photog ...
sued Fox News after Carlson, in a 2018 episode of his show, accused her of extorting
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
. In September 2020, federal judge
Mary Kay Vyskocil Mary Kay Vyskocil (born March 22, 1958) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and a former United States bankruptcy judge for the same court. President Donald Trump nominated ...
dismissed the lawsuit, citing her acceptance of Fox News' defense that Carlson's extortion claims were opinion based and not "statements of fact". The judge also agreed with Fox News' defense that reasonable viewers would have "skepticism" over statements Carlson makes on its show, as he often engages in "exaggeration" and "non-literal commentary", and that Carlson is not "stating actual facts" on its show. Beginning the week of June 8–14, 2020, ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' became the highest-rated cable news show in the U.S., with an average of four million viewers, beating out the shows hosted by fellow Fox News pundits Hannity and Ingraham. This came in the wake of Carlson's remarks criticizing the
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
movement, which had caused some companies to pull their advertising from the show, including
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
, , and
Papa John's Papa John's International, Inc., d/b/a Papa Johns, is an American pizza restaurant chain. It is the fourth largest pizza delivery restaurant chain in the United States, with headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky and Atlanta, Georgia metropolit ...
. In July 2020, Carlson's head writer Blake Neff resigned after
CNN Business CNN Business (formerly CNN Money) is a financial news and information website, operated by CNN. The website was originally formed as a joint venture between CNN.com and Time Warner's ''Fortune'' and ''Money'' magazines. Since the spin-off of Time ...
reported that he had been using a pseudonym to post remarks that were widely described as racist, sexist, and homophobic on
AutoAdmit AutoAdmit, also known as Xoxohth, is a website for prospective and current law students and lawyers. Its largely unmoderated law school message board is now the only active section, though it previously featured pages for undergraduates, busine ...
, a message board known for its lack of moderation of offensive and defamatory content. The incident drew renewed scrutiny to Carlson's program, already under pressure from sponsors because of Carlson's remarks about Black Lives Matter. Neff had also previously been a writer on ''
The Daily Caller ''The Daily Caller'' is a right-wing news and opinion website based in Washington, D.C. It was founded by now-Fox News host Tucker Carlson and political pundit Neil Patel in 2010. Launched as a "conservative answer to ''The Huffington Post'' ...
''. Carlson condemned Neff's posts on the second episode of ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' that aired after the posts were initially reported. By October 2020, ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' averaged 5.3 million viewers, with the show's monthly average becoming the highest of any cable news program in history at that point. In the 25–54 demographic, the show maintained an average viewership of just over a million, with 670,000 being between 18 and 49. Carlson's program saw a dip in viewership following the aftermath of the 2020 election, losing out to ''
Anderson Cooper 360° ''Anderson Cooper 360°'' (commonly shortened to either ''AC-360'' or ''360'') is an American television news show on CNN and CNN International, hosted by CNN journalist and news anchor Anderson Cooper. Since May 20, 2019, ''360°'' has been br ...
'' in the 25–54 demographic which Carlson had maintained a hold of the prior month. In 2020, ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' and ''The Sean Hannity Show'' became the first cable news programs to finish a full year with viewership in excess of four million. In the week following the inauguration of Joe Biden as president, ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' remained the only cable news program not to see a drop in viewership, slightly increasing from where it stood one week prior and reclaiming its lead among the 25–54 demographic. It remained the most-watched news-related cable show as of mid-2021. Through May 2022 it was a close second to '' The Five'', while leading in the 25-54 demographic. In February 2021, Carlson announced a multiyear deal with Fox News to host a new weekly
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
and series of monthly specials dubbed ''Tucker Carlson Originals'' on sister streaming service
Fox Nation Fox Nation is an American subscription video on demand service. Announced on February 20, 2018, and launching on November 27 of that year, it is a companion to Fox News Channel carrying programming of interest to its audience, including origina ...
, which released on March 29. In spring of 2021 he began hosting a show on Fox Nation called ''Tucker Carlson Today''.


''The Daily Caller'' (2010–2020)

On January 11, 2010, Carlson and Neil Patel (a former aide to
Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U ...
, and former college roommate of Carlson) launched a political news website titled ''
The Daily Caller ''The Daily Caller'' is a right-wing news and opinion website based in Washington, D.C. It was founded by now-Fox News host Tucker Carlson and political pundit Neil Patel in 2010. Launched as a "conservative answer to ''The Huffington Post'' ...
''. Carlson served as editor-in-chief, and occasionally wrote opinion pieces with Patel. The website was funded by the conservative activist
Foster Friess Foster Stephen Friess (April 2, 1940 – May 27, 2021) was an American investment manager and prominent donor to the Republican Party and to Christian right causes. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor of Wyoming in ...
. By February 2010, ''The Daily Caller'' was part of the White House rotating press pool. Carlson reportedly offered his employees free junk food, an unmonitored keg, provided them with a ping pong table, and allowed them to sleep under their desks. In interviews, Carlson said ''The Daily Caller'' would not be tied to ideology but rather "breaking stories of importance", and "We're not enforcing any kind of ideological orthodoxy on anyone." Columnist
Mickey Kaus Robert Michael "Mickey" Kaus (; born July 6, 1951) is an American journalist, pundit, and author, known for writing Kausfiles, a "mostly political" blog which was featured on ''Slate'' until 2010. Kaus is the author of ''The End of Equality'' and ...
quit after Carlson refused to run a column critical of Fox News's coverage of the immigration policy debate due to his contractual obligations to Fox News. In June 2010, ''The Daily Caller'' published excerpts from e-mails sent between members of
JournoList JournoList (sometimes referred to as the J-List) was a private Google Groups forum for discussing politics and the news media with 400 left-leaning journalists, academics and others. Ezra Klein created the online forum in February 2007 while bloggin ...
, an invitation-only liberal
forum Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses * Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example *Internet ...
, consisting of "several hundred journalists, academics and policy experts" launched in 2007 by
Ezra Klein Ezra Klein (born May 10, 1984) is an American journalist, political analyst, ''New York Times'' columnist, and the host of ''The Ezra Klein Show'' podcast. He is a co-founder of '' Vox'' and formerly served as the website's editor-at-large. He h ...
. The forum barred media reporters and conservatives. Carlson had earlier attempted to join the forum on May 25, 2010, but was denied by Klein. Klein offered to form a bipartisan forum with Carlson, but Carlson declined. ''Daily Caller'' employees later impersonated an editor of the ''
Arkansas Times ''Arkansas Times'', a weekly alternative newspaper based in Little Rock, Arkansas, is a publication that has circulated more than 40 years, originally as a magazine. Founded as a small magazine on newsprint in 1977 by publisher Alan Leveritt, ...
'' to gain entry into JournoList. The e-mails leaked by ''The Daily Caller'', which detailed efforts to, according to Carlson, "formulate the most effective talking points in order to defeat
Palin The surname Palin is a name of British origin, either English or Welsh. Possible derivations include an anglicization of the Welsh patronymic ''ap Heilyn'' ("son of Heilyn") or a reference to the English placenames Poling, West Sussex or Sea Pallin ...
and McCain and help elect
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
president", also contained statements by ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''s
Dave Weigel David Weigel (born September 26, 1981) is an American journalist. He works for ''Semafor''. Weigel previously covered politics for ''The Washington Post,'' '' Slate,'' and ''Bloomberg Politics'' and is a contributing editor for ''Reason'' maga ...
"wishing for the death of
Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American conservative political commentator who was the host of '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM r ...
" among other controversial remarks which ''The Washington Post'' considered "untenable", leading to his resignation. In February 2012, ''The Daily Caller'' published an "investigative series" of articles co-authored by Carlson, purporting to be an insiders' exposé of
Media Matters for America Media Matters for America (MMfA) is a politically left-leaning 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization and media watchdog group. MMfA was founded in 2004 by journalist and political activist David Brock as a counterweight to the conservative Media Res ...
, the liberal watchdog group that monitors and scrutinizes conservative media outlets, and its founder
David Brock David Brock (born July 23, 1962) is an American liberal political consultant, author, and commentator who founded the media watchdog group Media Matters for America. He has been described by ''Time'' as "one of the most influential operatives in ...
.
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
media critic and libertarian
Jack Shafer Jack Shafer (born November 14, 1957) is an American journalist who writes about media for ''Politico''. Prior to joining ''Politico'', he worked for Reuters and also edited and wrote the column'' "''Press Box" for ''Slate'', an online magazine. B ...
, while commenting "I've never thought much of Media Matters' style of watchdogging or Brock's journalism", nevertheless sharply criticized ''The Daily Caller'' piece for relying on conjecture, absence of evidence, and inclusion of "anonymously sourced crap", adding that "''Daily Caller'' is attacking Media Matters with bad journalism and lame propaganda." In June 2017, the
Center for Media and Democracy The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is a progressive nonprofit watchdog and advocacy organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. CMD publishes ExposedbyCMD.org, SourceWatch.org, and ALECexposed.org. History CMD was founded in 1993 by progr ...
(CMD), a liberal watchdog organization, said ''The Daily Caller'' was paid $150,000 by
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
's 2016 presidential campaign for its list of subscribers, whom the Trump campaign then emailed at least 25 times. The CMD said Carlson had a conflict of interest and had violated journalistic standards. In June 2020, Carlson sold his one-third stake in ''The Daily Caller'' to Patel for an undisclosed amount and said “Neil atelruns it. I wasn't adding anything. So we made it official".


Writing

Carlson authored the memoir '' Politicians, Partisans and Parasites: My Adventures in Cable News'', published by
Warner Books Grand Central Publishing is a book publishing imprint of Hachette Book Group, originally established in 1970 as Warner Books when Warner Communications acquired the Paperback Library. When Time Warner sold their book publishing business to Hachet ...
in September 2003, about his television news experiences. It received favorable reviews from ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
'' and the '' Washingtonian'', who both complimented the book for its humor. In May 2017, Carlson, represented by the literary and creative agency Javelin, signed an eight-figure, two-book deal with
Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...
's conservative imprint,
Threshold Editions Threshold Editions is an imprint of publishers Simon & Schuster, a division of ViacomCBS, specializing in conservative non-fiction. The publisher is Louise Burke; Mary Matalin was its founding editor-in-chief. Threshold Editions was founded to ...
. His first book in the series, '' Ship of Fools: How a Selfish Ruling Class is Bringing America to the Brink of Revolution'', was released in October 2018, and debuted at No.1 on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. His second book, '' The Long Slide: Thirty Years in American Journalism'', was released in August 2021.


Political views

Carlson has been described in the media as a
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
or
paleoconservative Paleoconservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism in the United States stressing American nationalism, Christian ethics, regionalism, and traditionalist conservatism. Paleoconservatism's concerns overlap with those of the ...
. In 2021, ''Time'' magazine said Carlson "may be the most powerful conservative in America". Writing for ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
'' magazine's ''
Intelligencer Intelligencer is an archaic word for a person who gathers intelligence, like a spy or secret agent. The term may refer to: Newspapers * ''Daily Intelligencer (disambiguation)'', multiple papers * ''Edwardsville Intelligencer'' (1862–present) ...
'' in 2019, Park MacDougald called Carlson a " Middle American radical", which he described as someone who holds
populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...
economic beliefs; hostility to
corporatocracy Corporatocracy (, from corporate and el, -κρατία, translit=-kratía, lit=domination by; short form corpocracy) is an economic, political and judicial system controlled by corporations or corporate interests. The concept has been used ...
; fervent positions on
nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
,
race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
, and
immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
; and a preference for a strong U.S. president. MacDougald identified this form of radicalism as the ideological core of
Trumpism Trumpism is a term for the political ideologies, social emotions, style of governance, political movement, and set of mechanisms for acquiring and keeping control of power associated with Donald Trump and his political base. '' Trumpists ...
. Carlson is noted for circulating
white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...
views and terminology into mainstream political discourse, in particular, repackaging the fringe racist "replacement" conspiracy theory into a version that accuses Democrats and "elites" of forcing demographic change. More virulent versions of the conspiracy theory have been cited by gunmen in several
mass shooting There is a lack of consensus on how to define a mass shooting. Most terms define a minimum of three or four victims of gun violence (not including the shooter or in an inner city) in a short period of time, although an Australian study from 20 ...
s targeting minorities; Carlson has denounced the attacks. Carlson is a
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
. He was previously registered as a
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
in Washington, D.C., from 2006 to 2020. In 2017, Carlson said his registration as a Democrat was to gain the right to vote in the primaries for mayoral elections in the district, and that he nevertheless "sincerely despise the Democratic party and "always vote for the more corrupt candidate over the idealist" in order to favor the status quo and stem
progressivism Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, tec ...
. Carlson campaigned for Republicans and Republican-affiliated causes during his time as a Democrat.


Parties and candidates

In public correspondence in ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'' with ''
Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is ...
''s Evan Smith on November 29, 1999, Carlson agreed with Smith's low opinion of Donald Trump, who was then running for president with the Reform Party. Carlson wrote that Trump was "the single most repulsive person on the planet" and that the Reform Party consisted of "a bunch of wackos". Separately, he criticized the party's eventual nominee,
Pat Buchanan Patrick Joseph Buchanan (; born November 2, 1938) is an American paleoconservative political commentator, columnist, politician, and broadcaster. Buchanan was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, an ...
. In his 2018 book, ''Ship of Fools'', Carlson wrote that he had adopted some of Buchanan's views. Carlson voted for
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
in the 2000 election. Carlson told ''Salon'' in 2003 that some Washington conservatives suspected he was "secretly liberal" because he liked
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
. Carlson said in an interview, "by my criteria, Bush isn't much of a conservative". Carlson did not vote in the 2004 election, citing his souring on the Iraq War, his disillusionment with the once
small-government Libertarian conservatism, also referred to as conservative libertarianism and conservatarianism, is a Political philosophy, political and social philosophy that combines Conservatism in the United States, conservatism and Libertarianism in the ...
Republican Party, and his disappointment with President Bush and like-minded conservatives. Carlson was reportedly floated as a potential candidate for the
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
nomination in the 2008 presidential election. He was included in polling at the 2008 Libertarian National Convention, with unconfirmed speculation arising that he was personally funding the effort. Carlson spoke at
Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as well ...
's independent
Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic (french: Rassemblement pour la République ; RPR ), was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 a ...
convention, opposite the official 2008 Republican National Convention, in
Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
, Minnesota, which served as a "message of revolt to the Republican Party" and a general celebration of Paul's policy proposals. He expressed his disappointment with the Republican nominee for the 2012 election,
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
, and the
healthcare reform Health care reform is for the most part governmental policy that affects health care delivery in a given place. Health care reform typically attempts to: * Broaden the population that receives health care coverage through either public sector insur ...
he signed in 2006 as
governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachusetts ...
, which contained an
individual mandate An individual mandate is a requirement by law for certain persons to purchase or otherwise obtain a good or service. United States Militia act The Militia Acts of 1792, based on the Constitution's militia clause (in addition to its affirmative ...
, saying, "out of 315 million Americans, the Republican Party managed to find the one guy who couldn't run on
Obamacare The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...
". During the
Trump presidency Donald Trump's tenure as the 45th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican from New York City, took office following his Electoral College victory ...
, Carlson was described in ''Politico'' as "perhaps the highest-profile proponent of 'Trumpism'a blend of anti-immigrant nationalism, economic populism and America First isolationism". Carlson's commentaries did not uniformly praise Trump, but he had frequent scorn for Trump's critics; some commentators called Carlson an exemplar of "anti-anti-Trump" arguments. Carlson criticized the
assassination of Qasem Soleimani On 3 January 2020, Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian major general, was killed by a U.S. drone strike at Baghdad International Airport. The drone targeted and killed Soleimani while he was on his way to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi i ...
, ordered by Trump in January 2020. Carlson said in June 2020 that Trump had let
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
protests go too far. Following the 2020 election, Carlson reportedly told people he had voted for
independent candidate An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
, though ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
'' points out that it was unclear whether Carlson "was serious or merely joking". In July 2021, Carlson told ''Time'' magazine that the Republican Party is "inept and bad at governing" and "much more effective as an oppositional force than it is as a governing party". Carlson supported
J. D. Vance James David Vance (born James Donald Bowman, August 2, 1984) is an American venture capitalist, author, and politician who is a United States senator-elect from Ohio, elected in 2022. A member of the Republican Party, he came to prominence with ...
in the 2022 Republican U.S. Senate primary in Ohio and privately persuaded Donald Trump to endorse him despite Vance's past opposition to Trump. Former Hawaii congresswoman and Democratic presidential primary contender
Tulsi Gabbard Tulsi Gabbard (; born April 12, 1981) is an American politician, United States Army Reserve officer and political commentator who served as the U.S. representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021. Gabbard was the firs ...
was a substitute host on ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' in 2022; she appeared on the show the night she left the Democratic Party in October 2022, to Carlson's praise.


Abortion and death penalty

Carlson opposes abortion and has said it is the only political issue he considers non-negotiable. Carlson has described ''
Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
'' as "the most embarrassing court decision handed down in the last century". Carlson wrote in 2000 that capital punishment "deserves more vigorous debate", and in 2003 told ''Salon'', "I'm opposed to the death penalty as I am adamantly opposed to abortion". After saying on Fox News in 2010 that
Michael Vick Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is a former American football quarterback. Regarded as having transformed the quarterback position with his rushing abilities, he is the NFL leader in quarterback rushing yards and was the league's firs ...
"should have been executed" for
dog fighting Dog fighting is a type of blood sport that turns game and fighting dogs against each other in a physical fight, generally to the death, for the purposes of gambling or entertainment to the spectators. In rural areas, fights are often staged i ...
, Carlson stated that he is "not comfortable with the death penalty under any circumstances".


Guns

Carlson has opposed
gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...
and the assault weapons ban. He has debated several Democrats on gun control. In 2015 he said Australian gun laws were "insane" and "childish". In March 2018 he criticized Donald Trump for comments supporting gun control after the
Stoneman Douglas High School shooting On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami suburban town of Parkland, Florida, murdering 17 people and injuring 17 others. Cruz, a former student at t ...
. In a 2019 interview Carlson said he owns a
AR-15 style rifle An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation d ...
and said "all my guns are working-class guns". He has a concealed carry permit in the District of Columbia. Carlson aired segments defending
Kyle Rittenhouse Kyle Howard Rittenhouse (born January 3, 2003) is an American known for shooting three men, two fatally, during the civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August 2020 when he was 17 years old. At his trial in November 2021, a jury found Ritten ...
, a 17-year-old who shot three protesters, killing two, in August 2020 in confrontations during unrest after a police shooting in
Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...
. At trial Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all charges.


Economics

Early in his career, Carlson supported
libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
economics. He supported Ron Paul's 1988 presidential candidacy, when Paul ran as the candidate for the
Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...
, along with his 2008 presidential candidacy, when Paul ran as a Republican. Carlson said in 2004, "I hate all nanny-state regulations, such as seat belt laws and smoking bans." From 2009 through 2015, Carlson was a senior fellow at the
Cato Institute The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch Indust ...
, a libertarian think tank. Since 2018, he has promoted more populist economics, attacking
libertarianism Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
, saying "
market capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private pr ...
is not a religion" and portraying some Republicans as "controlled by the banks". In an interview, he said that economic and
technological change Technological change (TC) or technological development is the overall process of invention, innovation and diffusion of technology or processes.From ''The New Palgrave Dictionary otechnical change by S. Metcalfe.  •biased and biased techn ...
that occurs too quickly can cause widespread
social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...
and
political upheaval In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
, and praised President
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
, saying his intervention in the economy in the early 1900s may have prevented a
communist revolution A communist revolution is a proletarian revolution often, but not necessarily, inspired by the ideas of Marxism that aims to replace capitalism with communism. Depending on the type of government, socialism can be used as an intermediate stage ...
in the United States. In 2019 on ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'', Carlson said America's "
ruling class In sociology, the ruling class of a society is the social class who set and decide the political and economic agenda of society. In Marxist philosophy, the ruling class are the capitalist social class who own the means of production and by exten ...
" are, in effect, the "
mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...
" behind the decline of the American middle class, and "any economic system that weakens and destroys families is not worth having. A system like that is the enemy of a healthy society." He cited parallels between the problems of
inner cities The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists somet ...
and
rural areas In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...
as evidence that the "culture of poverty" cited by conservatives as the cause of Urban decay, urban decline "wasn't the whole story", and that "Certain economic systems allow families to thrive. Thriving families make market economies possible." In January 2019, Carlson used a ''Washington Post'' op-ed by Romney to criticize what he described as the "mainstream Republican" worldview, consisting of "unwavering support for a Financialization, finance-based economy. Carlson has criticized hedge funds (singling out the Republican donor Paul Singer (businessman), Paul Singer in 2019) and private equity (in criticizing
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
, former CEO of Bain Capital). He described the business model of firms like Bain as: "Take over an existing company for a short period of time, cut costs by firing employees, run up the debt, extract the wealth and move on, sometimes leaving retirees without their earned pensions. ... Meanwhile, a remarkable number of the companies are now bankrupt or extinct." He attacked payday lenders, saying they "loan people money they can't possibly repay" and "charge them interest that impoverishes them" He praised Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren's economic plan and called her book ''The Two-Income Trap, The Two Income Trap'' "one of the best books I've ever read on economics".


Environment

On his show, Carlson frequently hosts guests who downplay the scientific consensus on climate change, and disagreed with Bill Nye on the subject.


Foreign policy

Carlson is skeptical of Interventionism (politics), foreign intervention, has expressed regret for his public support of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, U.S. invading Iraq in 2003, and has said "the U.S. ought to hesitate before Foreign interventions by the United States, intervening abroad". Carlson is known for some defenses of Authoritarianism, authoritarian foreign leaders, including Viktor Orbán of Hungary and Putin, Vladimir Putin of Russia; Carlson's praise for Orbán included a visit and his online film ''Hungary vs. Soros'', and Carlson was noted for defending Putin in the lead-up to Russia's 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In 2019 Carlson criticized Mitt Romney for supporting, in Carlson's words, "an Internationalism (politics), internationalist style" of foreign policy.


Hungary

In August 2021, Carlson traveled to Hungary, broadcasting from Budapest. He praised the country and its prime minister, Viktor Orbán, for rejecting asylum seekers on its border, and ridiculed the idea that Orbán was authoritarian. He spoke at a conference sponsored by the Mathias Corvinus Collegium. In January 2022, Carlson released the film ''Hungary vs. Soros'' on Fox Nation. According to ''Vox (magazine), Vox'', it promoted conspiracy theories about Soros and suggested that criticism of the Hungarian government was a function of jealousy from the political left. The Open Society Foundations, a group founded by Soros, called the film "anti-American propaganda," and its Vice President Laura Silber stated that "Carlson appears to prefer authoritarian rule, state capture of media and the courts, crony corruption and rigged elections."


Iraq

Carlson initially supported the Iraq War. A year after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, invasion of Iraq, he began criticizing the war, telling ''The New York Observer'': "I think it's a total nightmare and disaster, and I'm ashamed that I went against my own instincts in supporting it." In 2004, Carlson wrote a commentary in ''Esquire'' accusing Bush of weakness after the September 11 attacks and in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, invasion of Iraq.


Iran

In July 2017, Carlson said that "we actually don't face any domestic threat from Iran". He asked Max Boot to "tell me how many Americans in the United States have been murdered by terrorists backed by Iran since 9/11?" According to ''The New York Times'', Carlson played an influential role in dissuading Trump from launching military strikes against Iran in response to the 2019 Iranian shoot-down of American drone, shooting down of an American drone in June 2019. Carlson reportedly told Trump that if he listened to his War hawk, hawkish advisors and went ahead with the strikes, he would not win re-election. In 2019, Carlson lobbied Donald Trump to fire his national security advisor,
John Bolton John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United Sta ...
. Carlson said Bolton was "demented" for seeking a military strike against Iran and accused him of undermining Trump by disagreeing publicly with Trump's decisions. Trump fired Bolton on September 10, 2019. Carlson called the 2020 Baghdad International Airport airstrike, 2020 assassination of Qasem Soleimani a "quagmire". He criticized the "chest-beaters" who promote foreign interventions, particularly Senator Ben Sasse (Nebraska Republican Party, R-NE), and asked, "By the way, if we're still in Afghanistan, 19 years, sad years, later, what makes us think there's a quick way out of Iran?"


Mexico

Carlson supported Trump wall, Trump's expansion of the Mexico–United States barrier, saying a wall was needed to "restore sovereignty" to the border. In a July 2018 interview about Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, Russian involvement in U.S. elections, Carlson claimed that Mexico had interfered in U.S. elections "more successfully" than Russia by "packing our electorate" through mass immigration. This assertion was disputed by journalist Philip Bump, who wrote that the number of Mexicans in the U.S. had decreased since 2009 and asked rhetorically: "What good has it done Mexico to have a number of its citizens move to the United States and gain the right to vote?" In May 2019, Carlson defended Trump's decision to place tariffs on Mexico unless Mexico stopped illegal immigration to the United States. Carlson said, "When the United States is attacked by a hostile foreign power it must strike back, and make no mistake Mexico is a hostile foreign power."


Russia

Carlson has stated he does not consider Russia a serious threat to the United States. He called for the United States to work with Russia in the American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War, Syrian Civil War against a common enemy like the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). Peter Beinart of ''The Atlantic'' said Carlson has been an "Apologetics, apologist for Donald Trump on the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, Russia scandal". Carlson described the controversy over revelations that Donald Trump Jr. was Trump Tower meeting, willing to accept anti-Clinton information from a Russian government official as a "new level of hysteria" and said that Trump Jr. had only been "gossiping with foreigners". In May 2019, after Robert Mueller gave a statement saying the Mueller special counsel investigation, Special Counsel investigation on Russian interference in the 2016 election did not exonerate President Donald Trump of obstruction of justice, Carlson called Mueller "sleazy and dishonest". In February 2020, on his show Carlson called on Trump to pardon
Roger Stone Roger Jason Stone (born Roger Joseph Stone Jr.; August 27, 1952) is an American conservative political consultant and lobbyist. Since the 1970s, Stone has worked on the campaigns of Republican politicians, including Richard Nixon, Ronald Rea ...
, who had been convicted of lying to Congress and witness tampering as a result of the investigation. Trump retweeted a clip of Carlson's segment. Carlson also met with Jared Kushner at the White House and demanded clemency for Stone. Trump commuted Stone's sentence on July 10, 2020. Carlson asserted in December 2019 that "Putin, for all his faults, does not hate America as much as many of these people do", referring to liberals. "They really dislike our country. And they call other people traitors because they're mouthing the talking points of Putin." He was criticized by Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador during the Presidency of Barack Obama, Obama administration, who said, "You are wrong Mr. Carlson. Putin does hate America", urging him to "stop attacking Americans & defending Putin". As Russia threatened a military incursion into Ukraine in December 2021, Russian state television broadcast remarks Carlson had made on his program in which he asserted "NATO exists primarily to torment Vladimir Putin", that the United States fomented the Revolution of Dignity, 2014 overthrow of the pro-Russia Ukrainian government and that President Joe Biden sought "a hot war with Russia". In January 2022, Carlson stated in an interview for ''Axios (website), Axios'' that he "could care less [sic] if they call me a pawn of Putin", and also stated that he hoped Republican primary voters in the 2022 United States elections would vote out candidates that "believes Ukraine's borders are more important than our borders". In late February 2022, on the eve of 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Carlson described Prelude to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the preceding crisis as a "border dispute" and said it was "not treason, it is not un-American" to support Putin, "it's the whole point of America." He also said his viewers should ask themselves, "Why do I hate Putin so much? Has Putin ever called me a racist? Has he threatened to get me fired for disagreeing with him?" Carlson changed his tone after the invasion, telling his viewers on February 24, 2022, that "what Russia has done is awful" and that Putin "clearly does deserve to be punished" for invading Ukraine, while warning that the conflict could turn into a world war. However, in March 2022, Carlson started to amplify baseless Russian state propaganda that the U.S. and Ukraine were purportedly Ukraine bioweapons conspiracy theory, developing biological weapons in Ukraine. That month, as reported by ''Mother Jones (magazine), Mother Jones'', the Kremlin sent a memo to state-friendly media outlets saying it was "essential" to use video clips of Carlson "as much as possible". ''Mother Jones'' further observed Carlson was the only Western media pundit the Kremlin adopted in this way.


Syria

Carlson opposes overthrowing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has downplayed some of the Assad regime's Human rights violations during the Syrian civil war, human rights violations in the Syrian civil war, Syrian Civil War. In April 2018, Carlson questioned whether Assad was responsible for the Douma chemical attack that had occurred a few days earlier and killed dozens. In November 2019, Carlson repeated this claim and queried whether the attack had happened at all. Carlson suggested that a similar attack that occurred the year before (the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack), which was attributed to Assad's forces and which the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism, OPCW JIM indicated was carried out with sarin that bore the regime's signature, was a false flag attack perpetrated to falsely implicate the Assad government. Carlson compared Assad's war crimes during the Syrian Civil War to Saudi Arabia's Human rights violations during the Yemeni Civil War (2015–present), war crimes in Yemen.


North Korea

When President Trump met the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the country's border with the South in June 2019, Carlson, who was touring with Trump, defended Trump's friendship with Kim. Carlson told ''Fox & Friends'' that the North Korean regime was "monstrous" and North Korea was a "disgusting place" but "On the other hand, you've got to be honest about what it means to lead a country. It means killing people". Carlson went on to argue that "a lot of countries commit atrocities including a number that we're closely allied with".


China

Carlson has said normalization of relations with China following President Richard Nixon's Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China, 1972 visit led to unforeseen consequences, and that America became progressively worse off for it. He criticized LeBron James for speaking out against Daryl Morey, the latter having tweeted in support of the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, and referred to the former CEO of
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
, Bob Iger, as a "propagandist" for the Chinese Communist Party. On November 20, 2020, ''The New York Times'' reported that Steve Bannon and Chinese businessman Guo Wengui had brought Li-Meng Yan to America to promote the COVID-19 lab leak theory, a theory which states covid was made in a Chinese laboratory and then escaped for the lab. Bannon and Wengui set up appearances for Yan on Carlsons show to promote the theory. Later Carlson would say that he did not endorse her theories on Covid. However Carlson still hosted her on his show for a second appearance.


British colonialism

After the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, Carlson opined that the British Empire, although "not perfect", had brought civilization to regions it occupied with "decency unmatched by any empire in human history". He was criticized in India by figures such as the politician and historian Shashi Tharoor, who had written a book detailing atrocities by the British Raj.


Immigration and race

Carlson is a frequent critic of immigration, and has been described by multiple writers as demonizing both legal and illegal immigrants. White grievance politics is a persistent theme in Carlson's commentary. Sources such as CNN and ''The Washington Post'' have said Carlson promotes racism, a charge he denies, saying in 2018, "I'm not a racist. I hate racism." Carlson has repeatedly promoted a conspiracy theory that Democrats are seeking "demographic replacement" to increase their voter base, and in 2021 he described this as "the Great Replacement conspiracy theory in the United States, Great Replacement", using white nationalist terminology. Carlson has described white supremacy as "not a real problem in America". Heidi Beirich of the Southern Poverty Law Center has said that "Carlson probably has been the No.1 commentator mainstreaming bedrock principles of white nationalism in [the U.S.]." Terry Smith, a law professor at St. Thomas University, has called Carlson's rhetoric an example of white identity politics. University of Michigan professor Alexandra Stern has written that Carlson propagates demographic fear. Neoconservative pundit Bill Kristol described Carlson's commentaries in 2018 as "close now to racism" and "Ethnic nationalism, ethno-nationalism of some kind, let's call it".


''Bubba the Love Sponge'' call-ins (2006–2009)

In Phone-in, call-in segments Carlson made from 2006 to 2009 on the radio show ''
Bubba the Love Sponge Bubba the Love Sponge Clem (born Todd Alan Clem, April 23, 1966) is an American radio personality who hosts ''The Bubba the Love Sponge Show'' on the radio station WWBA in Tampa, Florida, and the subscription service Bubba Army Radio. He can al ...
'', Carlson said Iraq was not worth invading because it was a country made up of "semi-literate primitive monkeys" who "don't use toilet paper or forks". Carlson also stated that he had "zero sympathy" for the people of Iraq. He also criticized "lunatic Muslims who are behaving like animals", and said that any presidential candidate who vowed to "kill as many of them as [they] can" would be "elected king". Recordings of these segments were released online in March 2019 by the Progressivism in the United States, progressive nonprofit
Media Matters for America Media Matters for America (MMfA) is a politically left-leaning 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization and media watchdog group. MMfA was founded in 2004 by journalist and political activist David Brock as a counterweight to the conservative Media Res ...
. ''The Washington Post'' called these comments racist.


Obama administration (2015)

In a guest appearance with Alex Jones in 2015, Carlson described the Presidency of Barack Obama, Obama administration: "They categorize people by race in a way that, you know, you can't even imagine30 years ago you would have said, 'Wait a second, that's like Nazi stuff.'"


Views on Islam (2015–2017)

Carlson has criticized Islam and has hosted guests on his show who do the same. After the Charlie Hebdo shooting, ''Charlie Hebdo'' shooting in 2015, Carlson said, "This is an Islamic problem we’re facing." He accused the Obama administration of ignoring Islamic terrorism. In 2017, he opined that terrorism in Europe had become inevitable because of Muslims living there.


Trump campaign (2016)

Writing for ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
'' in January 2016, Carlson expressed his support for Donald Trump's candidacy and his positions, such as his proposed "Trump travel ban, Muslim ban", and criticized the other Republican candidates for not similarly making immigration a core issue. When
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
, the 2012 Republican nominee for president, Mitt Romney's 2016 anti-Trump speech, denounced Trump in March 2016, saying Trump made a "disqualifying and disgusting response" by evading questions about former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke's support, Carlson criticized Romney and dismissed his speech by suggesting "Obama could have written this."


Immigrants and the Great Replacement conspiracy theory (2018–2022)

In 2018, Carlson described the effects of mass immigration on the United States using the terms ''dirtier'', ''poorer'', and ''more divided'' and said it "has badly hurt this country's natural landscape". Talking about Hazleton, Pennsylvania, Hazleton, Pennsylvania, where Hispanics had quickly become a majority of the population, Carlson said it was "more change than human beings are designed to digest". In May 2019 he said, "The flood of illegal workers into the United States has damaged our communities, ruined our schools, burdened our healthcare system and fractured our national unity." In December 2019, he falsely claimed that immigrants were responsible for making the Potomac River "dirtier and dirtier". Several days after the 2019 El Paso shooting, which was committed by a man who released an anti-immigrant manifesto complaining of a "Hispanic invasion", Carlson described white supremacy as a hoax and "a conspiracy theory used to divide the country and keep a hold on power". He asked rhetorically, "the combined membership of every white supremacist group in Americawould they be able to fit inside a college football stadium?" According to ''The Washington Post'', "Carlson's argument is belied by many experts and seemingly contradicted by a recent wave of deadly attacks by men motivated by those views." In April 2021, Carlson argued that the Democratic Party "is trying to replace the current electorate, the voters now casting ballots, with new people, more obedient voters from the Third World". He also said, "Everyone wants to make a racial issue out of it, 'Ooh, the white replacement theory.' No, no, no, this is a voting rights question. I have less political power because they are importing a brand-new electorate. Why should I sit back and take that?" The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and others said that Carlson was endorsing the Great Replacement conspiracy theory in the United States, Great Replacement, a white nationalist conspiracy theory that claims white people are being systemically replaced through declining white birth rates and high rates of immigration. In an open letter to Fox News, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt called for the network to fire Carlson, arguing that the talk about demographic replacement "was not just a dog whistle to racistsit was a bullhorn". Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch defended Carlson, writing that Carlson had "decried and rejected replacement theory" when he said, "White replacement theory? No, no, this is a voting rights question." Greenblatt responded that Carlson's saying this made it "worse, because he's using a straw manSuffrage, voting rightsto give an underhanded endorsement of white supremacist beliefs while ironically suggesting it's not really white supremacism". In September 2021, Carlson again invoked the Great Replacement theory on his program, this time by name. Carlson accused President Joe Biden of "eugenics" and changing "the racial mix of the country", and said, "this policy is sometimes called the Great Replacementthe replacement of legacy Americans, with more obedient people from faraway countries". In response, the ADL reiterated its call for Carlson to be fired from the network. Carlson was criticized for abbreviating a clip of Biden in 2015 describing "an unrelenting stream of immigration, nonstop" in U.S. history to remove its context. In May 2022, after the 2022 Buffalo shooting, in which the shooter's manifesto (like those of some previous mass shooters) cited the Great Replacement conspiracy theory, Carlson claimed he was unfamiliar with the conspiracy theory, even though he had previously mentioned it by name on his show, and had alleged the idea of forced demographic change by Democrats over 400 times on his show. He accused Democrats and "the left" of "pushing replacement theory", saying "there is a strong political component to the Democratic Party's immigration policy".


South Africa (2018)

In August 2018, Carlson alleged that the Government of South Africa, South African government was South African farm attacks, targeting white farmers because "they are the wrong skin color" and falsely said the country's president had changed the constitution to allow land thefts from whites during ongoing Land reform in South Africa, land reform efforts. CBS News, Associated Press, ''The New York Times'' and ''The Wall Street Journal'' described Carlson's segment (with guest Marian Tupy of the
Cato Institute The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch Indust ...
) as false or misleading, because South African farm attacks, violence against farmers had reached an all-time low and the reforms had yet to pass and were primarily aimed at land that had fallen into disuse. Following the Carlson segment, President Trump tweeted that he had instructed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to "closely study the South Africa land and farm seizure and large scale killing of farmers". The South African government responded that Trump's tweet was "misinformed" and said it would address the matter through diplomatic channels. AfriForum, a South African non-governmental organization focused mainly on the interests of Afrikaners, took credit for Carlson's and Trump's statements, saying it believed that its campaign to influence American politics had succeeded. The evening after the segment, Carlson acknowledged that the proposed amendment was still being debated and added that no farms had yet been Eminent domain, expropriated, though he did not admit to having made errors. Carlson later said in an interview that his South Africa segment made "an argument against tribalism".


Antifa altercation (2018)

In November 2018, a group of Antifa (United States), antifa activists associated with the "Smash Racism D.C." group protested outside Carlson's Washington, D.C., home. Carlson's driveway was vandalized with a spray-painted Anarchist symbolism, anarchist symbol, and Carlson stated that his front door was cracked.


Ilhan Omar (2019)

Carlson concluded ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' on July 9, 2019, with a three-minute monologue about Representative Ilhan Omar (Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, D-MN), calling her ungrateful to the United States, where she had been granted Asylum in the United States, asylum, and calling her "living proof that the way we practice immigration has become dangerous to this country". His monologue was described by ''The Guardian'' as "racially loaded" and "full of anti-immigrant rhetoric". Congresswoman Omar responded on Twitter, saying that "advertisers should not be underwriting this kind of dangerous, hateful rhetoric". ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
'' commented that Carlson had devoted numerous segments to criticizing Omar, and that largely due to "right-wing attacks that have then been amplified by members of Congress and the president", Omar had been receiving death threats since her election to Congress.


Black Lives Matter and George Floyd (2020–2021)

Carlson cast doubts on the intentions of
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
protesters in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by a police officer, saying in June 2020, "it is definitely not about black lives, and remember that when they come for you, and at this rate, they will". Although Fox News said Carlson was referring to Democratic leaders and not protesters, Carlson's comments on Black Lives Matter were met with rebuke. Advertisers including
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
,
Papa John's Papa John's International, Inc., d/b/a Papa Johns, is an American pizza restaurant chain. It is the fourth largest pizza delivery restaurant chain in the United States, with headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky and Atlanta, Georgia metropolit ...
, Poshmark, and T-Mobile stopped advertising on Carlson's program. In other comments, Carlson argued that the unrest following Floyd's killing stemmed from a desire for ideological domination, rather than genuine opposition to Police brutality in the United States, police brutality. Carlson claimed in 2021 that "there was no physical evidence that George Floyd was murdered by a cop" and "the autopsy showed that George Floyd almost certainly died of a drug overdose", even though two autopsies found that Floyd died from homicide caused by former police officer Derek Chauvin's kneeling on his neck for Eight minutes 46 seconds, more than eight minutes. Floyd had drugs in his system when he died, but medical professionals determined this did not cause his death. After jurors found Chauvin State v. Chauvin, guilty of murder, Carlson argued that they were intimidated into doing so by Black Lives Matter protests rather than being swayed by witness testimony or video of the killing of Floyd. He characterized the protests as "nearly a year of burning and looting and murder by BLM".


Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court nomination (2022)

In February 2022, Carlson criticized President Joe Biden's Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court nomination, nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court of the United States, Supreme Court, calling her "ignorant of the law", in contrast to most legal analysts who have described Jackson as highly qualified. Carlson used language such as "defile", "humiliate", and "degrade" in reference to the nomination's effect on the court, likening the nomination to affirmative action and the Rwandan genocide due to Biden's public pledge to nominate a Black woman. One commentator, Jennifer Rubin (columnist), Jennifer Rubin, characterized these remarks as an example of white supremacy. Kanye West interview (2022) Carlson aired an edited version of his interview with
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
over two days in October 2022 in which he called some of West's views "obviously true"; Carlson did not disclose that during his interview, West had made a number of Antisemitism, antisemitic remarks and had claimed that his home had been infiltrated by "fake children" (child actors). Footage of the omitted answers, leaked to ''Vice News,'' was scrutinized in light of West's tweets shortly after the interview that he was "going death con 3" against Jewish people. Philip Bump of ''The Washington Post'' wrote that Carlson had presented "a very specific version" of West's remarks that "mirrored Carlson’s rhetoric on race and politics". Ben Samuels of ''Haaretz'' wrote that the episode "brings Carlson’s history of providing a platform for antisemitism further into focus".


Responses to allegations of racism and comments about race

On August 18, 2017, during a debate about whether web hosting companies should do business with racist sites like ''The Daily Stormer'', Carlson said "I'm not defending white supremacy. I don't believe it in. I don't approve of it". In July 2020, after ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' writer Blake Neff resigned after he was revealed to have posted several racist blogs, Carlson condemned the blog posts on his show saying "It is wrong to attack people for qualities they cannot control. In this country, we judge people for what they do, not for how they were born". In 2022, in response to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' publishing a report criticizing Carlson and his show, Carlson said that his show did not have a controversial opinion on race, saying "Our view of race is really simple. We believe Martin Luther King Jr. We don't think your skin color is the most important thing about you. We think all people were created by God and should therefore be judged by what they do, not by how they look."


Gender and sexuality

Carlson is an opponent of feminism. In a December 2021 segment despairing the falling Employment-to-population ratio, labor participation rate of U.S. men, Carlson said, "Men and women are very different, extremely different. Society is built on their differences." He has alleged that feminists want girls to make gains at the expense of boys. He was rebuked by the U.S. military in March 2021 after he ridiculed maternity flight suits for U.S. women soldiers and described a decision by the Chinese military to build ships as "more masculine". He used the words ''pig'' and ''cunt'' to describe several individual women in remarks from 2006 to 2011 on the radio show ''Bubba the Love Sponge''. In 2022, Carlson released ''The End of Men'', a ''Tucker Carlson Original'' alleging a decline in American masculinity. The episode featured Raw Egg Nationalist, a pseudonymous author affiliated with Neo-Nazi publishing house Antelope Hill Publishing, Antelope Hill. Carlson has highlighted what he considers excesses of LGBT community, LGBT people on the political left. Some of his comments on air have been described as Homophobia, homophobic, including a 2006 radio conversation in which he and
Bubba the Love Sponge Bubba the Love Sponge Clem (born Todd Alan Clem, April 23, 1966) is an American radio personality who hosts ''The Bubba the Love Sponge Show'' on the radio station WWBA in Tampa, Florida, and the subscription service Bubba Army Radio. He can al ...
used the word ''faggot'' to describe their affection for each other, and his 2007 description of an incident during high school of beating up a gay man who had made an advance on him in a public bathroom. In the same year, he called 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Democratic primary contenders cowards for not pledging to legalize same sex marriage and stated that he would support that. In 2021, Carlson belittled the Parental leave, paternity leave taken by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, a gay man, joking that Buttigieg could be "trying to figure out how to breastfeed". Carlson's promotion of inflammatory rhetoric about LGBTQ controversies was scrutinized after the Colorado Springs nightclub shooting, Colorado Springs nightclub mass shooting in November 2022.


COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines

Carlson aired segments warning about COVID-19 in the first months of 2020, and reportedly influenced then-President Trump to take the virus more seriously. But by May 2020, Carlson began to publicly question the severity of the virus and oppose social distancing measures. In 2021 and 2022, he repeatedly aired segments casting doubt on masks and COVID-19 vaccine, vaccines, and falsely accused National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci of contributing to the creation of the virus. Carlson differed with Trump and some of his colleagues at Fox News in early 2020 by saying COVID-19 should be taken more seriously in the U.S. On March 9, 2020, Carlson opened his show by saying, "People you trust, people you probably voted for, have spent weeks minimizing what is clearly a very serious problem.... But they're wrong. It's definitely not just the Influenza, flu." Sources in the White House said Carlson's statements caused Trump to reconsider his position. Carlson also told ''Vanity Fair (magazine), Vanity Fair'' that he spoke to Trump about COVID-19. Carlson blamed China for causing the pandemic. However, Carlson also claimed that some U.S. officials were overstating the deadliness of the virusa claim that PolitiFact called mostly false. Carlson criticized stay-at-home orders brought on by the pandemic, and ridiculed Anthony Fauci. Carlson defended 2020 United States anti-lockdown protests, protests against lockdowns in rural areas, saying, "The threat to rural America from this virus is minuscule, so why are we punishing the people who live outside the cities?" In 2021, Carlson ran segments that misrepresented the safety of COVID-19 vaccines and asserted that U.S. officials were "lying" about them. He questioned why the CDC was advising vaccinated people to continue mask-wearing and distancing in April 2021, saying, "maybe [the vaccine] doesn't work, and they're simply not telling you that". Fact checks called Carlson's argument misleading, because COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in protecting against COVID-19 infections and severe symptoms, and universal masking helps prevent unvaccinated people from spreading the virus. Fauci called Carlson's remarks a "crazy conspiracy theory". Later Carlson falsely called Fauci "the guy who created Covid". In another segment, Carlson misrepresented federal data to claim that in the previous five months around 30 people per day in the U.S. died after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. Carlson's argument was called misleading because the federal database he cited, Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, VAERS, consists of unverified public reports, some of which have been Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System#Limitations, false; post-vaccine deaths can be from Correlation does not imply causation, unrelated causes; and the CDC had found no connection between COVID-19 vaccinations and deaths based on VAERS. In July 2021, Carlson said plans by the government to provide door-to-door vaccinations were "the greatest scandal in my lifetime, by far" and falsely described them as an attempt to "force people to take medicine they don't want or need". He also likened Vaccine passports during the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine passports to segregationist Jim Crow laws, Jim Crow laws. He claimed that a COVID-19 vaccination mandates in the United States, vaccine mandate in the United States Armed Forces, U.S. Armed Forces was designed to oust "the sincere Christians in the ranks, the free thinkers, the men with high testosterone levels, and anyone else who doesn't love Joe Biden". On a day when two Fox News hosts, Steve Doocy and
Sean Hannity Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of ''The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commentar ...
, urged viewers to get vaccinated to protect against the surging SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant, Delta variant of the coronavirus, Carlson said, "There are a lot of people giving you medical advice on television and you should ignore them." Carlson refused to say whether he has been vaccinated, responding to a reporter, "When was the last time you had sex with your wife and in what position? We can trade intimate details." More than 90% of Fox Corporation's full-time employees had been fully vaccinated by September 2021. In May 2022, Carlson described himself as against "the vax". Carlson mentioned the anti-parasite medication ivermectin as a possible COVID-19 treatment, though the FDA warned against its use. Carlson called people wearing masks outdoors "zealots and neurotics", saying that children wearing masks was child abuse and that, "Your response when you see children wearing masks as they play should be no different from your response to seeing someone beat a kid in Walmart... Call the police immediately, contact child protective services. Keep calling until someone arrives." In February 2022, Carlson supported the Canadian freedom convoy, Canada convoy protest against COVID-19 restrictions and called it "the single most successful human rights protest in a generation". In a January 2022 show, Carlson's guest Alex Berenson made misleading claims that the mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 are "dangerous and ineffective" and "need to be withdrawn from the market now", claims that Carlson left unchallenged. Public health officials rejected the claims; CDC Director Rochelle Walensky responded that vaccinated and boosted individuals are 68 times less likely to die of COVID-19 than unvaccinated people. In July 2022, Carlson stated that "it's looking likely that the vaccine might suppress the immune system," citing a widely-criticized review of VAERS data in ''Food and Chemical Toxicology'' and a misrepresented data table from a study in ''The Lancet''; the lead author of the latter study, Dr. Peter Nordström, clarified that the paper did not show any of what Carlson claimed. After Fauci announced plans to retire in August 2022, Carlson made additional false claims that Fauci "helped create that [COVID-19] virus in the first place" by funding gain-of-function research at "various labs, including one owned by the Chinese government, a lot of biolabs in Ukraine" and then "lied ... in order to sell more vaccines ... which weren't even actually vaccines, but they did hurt a lot of people, tens of thousands." According to Jon Cohen in ''Science (journal), Science'', "Carlson took facts out of context and cited long-debunked studies or reports to attack Fauci." In October 2022, Carlson interviewed
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
, with the latter's statement that he had received the COVID-19 vaccine being omitted from two days of segments.


2020 election aftermath

Ahead of the 2020 election, in September, Carlson told viewers that Democrats were promoting Postal voting in the 2020 United States elections, mail-in voting to create "uncertainty over the outcome of the election, so they can manipulate the results". After Joe Biden won the election in November, Carlson raised Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election, false allegations of Republican reactions to Donald Trump's claims of 2020 election fraud, fraud in the election. On his show, he mentioned the names of purportedly dead individuals who voted in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia; investigative reporting subsequently found that some of the individuals whom he claimed to be dead were in fact alive. Carlson apologized on his show for the error. Carlson distanced himself from Trump's Post-election lawsuits related to the 2020 United States presidential election, post-election legal fights, in which Carlson said the election was "not fair" but acknowledged that it still would not produce a Trump victory. Later that month, Carlson cast doubt on unfounded conspiratorial claims made by former federal prosecutor Sidney Powell, who alleged that Venezuela, Cuba and unidentified communist interests had used a secret algorithm to hack into voting machines and commit widespread electoral fraud. Carlson said "what Powell was describing would amount to the single greatest crime in American history", but that Powell became "angry and told us to stop contacting her" when he asked for evidence of widespread voter fraud. Prominent defenders of Trump criticized Carlson for his skepticism, though Powell was dropped from Trump's legal team shortly afterward. Carlson later brought on Mike Lindell on January 26, 2021, whose company My Pillow was the largest advertiser on ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'', to criticize Dominion Voting Systems and claim it had "hired hit groups and bots and trolls" to target him following his Twitter account's permanent suspension for promoting unfounded fraud claims. In July 2021, Carlson suggested that "there actually was meaningful voter fraud in Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, Georgia, last November" despite the state's 2020 United States presidential election in Georgia, election results being validated via both hand and machine recounts. PolitiFact found that none of the evidence provided by Carlson substantiated his conclusion. For example, because Trump and Biden ballots were sorted into separate piles during the hand recount, tally sheets with votes exclusively for either candidate are not indicative of fraud. In August 2022, Carlson was deposed as part of a lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News over false claims of voter fraud made about the company.


2021 U.S. Capitol attack

In February 2021, after attorney general nominee Merrick Garland pledged at his confirmation hearing to supervise the prosecution of "white supremacists and others" involved in the
January 6 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then-U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The mob was seeking to keep Trump in pow ...
, Carlson alleged, "There's no evidence that white supremacists were responsible for what happened on January 6. That's a lie." PolitiFact rated Carlson's claim false, because several rioters had known ties to white supremacist groups, according to court records and congressional testimony by law enforcement leaders, and video and photos from the incident showed white supremacist symbols prominently displayed. Philip Bump of ''The Washington Post'' wrote in an analysis that Carlson was blurring the lines between "being involved" and "being responsible for" to create a strawman in an effort to "undercut the public understanding of what happened and, by extension, to soften the implications for Trump and his supporters". Carlson has also inaccurately stated that "[n]ot a single person in the crowd on January 6 was found to be carrying a firearm." In June 2021, Carlson promoted a conspiracy theory alleging that the Capitol storming was a "false flag" Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI operation intended to "suppress political dissent". He alleged that unindicted co-conspirators in rioters' indictments were government agents, saying, "FBI operatives were organizing the attack on the Capitol on January 6, according to government documents". Legal experts said Carlson's claim was unfounded because prosecutors cannot describe an undercover agent as an unindicted co-conspirator. One of the unindicted co-conspirators was readily identifiable as Stewart Rhodes, founder and leader of Oath Keepers, a far-right anti-government militia; another unindicted co-conspirator was likely the wife of an indicted alleged conspirator. Carlson's guest, Darren Beattie of Revolver News, whose writing the segment was primarily based on, had been fired as a Trump speechwriter in 2018 after CNN asked the White House about his attendance at a gathering of white nationalists. Carlson also said Russian president Vladimir Putin raised "fair questions" when Putin mentioned the fatal Law enforcement response to the 2021 United States Capitol attack#Shooting of Ashli Babbitt, police shooting of a rioter inside the Capitol while denying involvement in the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, poisoning of a Russian politician. Republican House members Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene quickly embraced Carlson's story about FBI involvement in the Capitol attack, and Republican congressman Paul Gosar entered the Revolver News story into the ''Congressional Record'' during a United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform, House Oversight Committee hearing. In response to Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley's defense of studying critical race theory "to understand white rage" as it concerns the storming, Carlson said, "Hard to believe that man wears a uniform. ... He's not just a pig, he's stupid!" After Carlson criticized Ted Cruz, Senator Ted Cruz for calling the Capitol storming a "terrorist attack", Cruz appeared on Carlson's show January 6, 2022, the anniversary of the event, and apologized for his words.


Patriot Purge program

In late October 2021, "Patriot Purge", a three-part series produced by Carlson, was released on the
Fox Nation Fox Nation is an American subscription video on demand service. Announced on February 20, 2018, and launching on November 27 of that year, it is a companion to Fox News Channel carrying programming of interest to its audience, including origina ...
streaming service. Carlson broadcast a trailer that suggested the January 6 attack was a government false flag operation to implicate the right wing, with one speaker asserting that "the left is hunting the right". Carlson stated on-air that the government had "launched a new war" on American citizens and characterized his series as "rock-solid factually". Fact-checkers found the series contained numerous falsehoods and conspiracy theories. Michael Jensen, a senior researcher at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, called it "political propaganda that is meant to rally a support base that has shown a willingness to mobilize on the basis of disinformation and lies. That's how we got Jan. 6 in the first place." Conservative writers Jonah Goldberg and Stephen F. Hayes, Steve Hayes responded to the series by severing their ties to Fox News, declaring that the series was "a collection of incoherent conspiracy-mongering, riddled with factual inaccuracies, half-truths, deceptive imagery, and damning omissions". Bret Baier and Chris Wallace, prominent anchors in the network's news division, raised objections to the series to top executives of the Fox organization.


Alleged surveillance

In October 2020, Carlson alleged on his show that someone was reading his text messages, after documents he claimed had compromising information on Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, Hunter, were lost by the United Parcel Service and then quickly located. Carlson did not say what these documents contained. In November 2021, the ''Daily Mail'' published emails from a laptop owned by Hunter Biden, which appear to demonstrate a friendship between himself and Carlson. On June 28, 2021, Carlson said on his program that "a whistleblower within the U.S. government" informed him that the National Security Agency (NSA) was "monitoring our electronic communications and is planning to leak them in an attempt to take this show off the air", adding, "The Biden administration is spying on us. We have confirmed that." That same day, a producer for Carlson filed an unusually broad Freedom of Information Act (United States), Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the NSA, seeking records, including "any communication between NSA officials regarding journalist Tucker Carlson", dating back to January 2019, before Biden became president. On June 29, the NSA tweeted a rare statement of denial, stating that Carlson has never been a target of its surveillance and it never had any intent to have his program taken off the air. Carlson responded on-air that the NSA did not deny reading his emails. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy (California politician), Kevin McCarthy asked House Intelligence Committee ranking member Devin Nunes to investigate. ''Axios (website), Axios'' reported on July 7 that, shortly before Carlson made his allegation, he had been in contact with U.S.-based Kremlin intermediaries to arrange an interview with Vladimir Putin. The reporter of the ''Axios'' exclusive story, Jonathan Swan, later confirmed he had contacted Carlson seeking pre-publication comment, but said he had not told Carlson that anyone had shared the email contents with him. On that night's program, Carlson said that he had contacted people about interviewing Putin, but did not mention it to anyone because he did not want to "rattle the Russians, and make the interview less likely to happen". He said that the NSA had Unmasking by U.S. intelligence agencies, unmasked his identity and that "the contents of my emails left that building at the NSA and wound up with a news organization". On July 23, cybersecurity news website The Record wrote that Carlson had not been targeted by the NSA but had been unmasked after he was mentioned by third parties who were under surveillance, citing two anonymous sources. Fox News called the reported act "unacceptable". ''The New York Times'' observed there was a distinction between Carlson's communications being intercepted by the NSA and intercepts of foreigners who were discussing Carlson. The NSA inspector general's office announced in August 2021 that it was examining Carlson's allegation.


Rhetorical style

Carlson's rhetorical style and debating tactics have drawn close attention from writers and other public figures. In arguments, Carlson can quickly shift between personas as a devil's advocate and a moralizing truth teller, and simultaneously appear outraged and blaséemploying a "joking/not-joking loophole" that radio shock jocks have often used, according to Lili Loofbourow of ''
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''.
James Carville Chester James Carville Jr. (born October 25, 1944) is an American political consultant, author, and occasional actor who has strategized for candidates for public office in the United States and in at least 23 nations abroad. A Democrat, he is an ...
, a Democratic strategist and friend of Carlson who has appeared on his shows, called Carlson "one of the world's great contrarians", with a gift for making his views sound rebellious even when they are widespread or advantageous. Carlson has said he especially targets the "moral preening" of people he sees as having a sensibility of "I'm a really good person, and you're not." Carlson presents his perceived opponents "as endlessly cynical and duplicitous", and agitates his audience against them by Cherry picking, cherry-picking and misinterpreting information, according to Philip Bump of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''. Charlotte Alter of ''Time (magazine), Time'' wrote that Carlson "sanitizes and legitimizes right-wing conspiratorial thinking, dodges when you try to nail him down on the specifics, then wraps it all in an argument about censorship and free speech". Elaina Plott in ''The Atlantic'' summed up Carlson's style as "a gleeful ''fuck you''" to his opponents. During remote interviews, Carlson's producers will keep his face close-up onscreen so viewers can watch him react, often in disbelief. His trademark scowl lets viewers "share his disdain" toward opposing views, foreshadowing a "scathing rebuttal". Carlson is known to interrupt guests repeatedly with direct demands to answer questions he poses, sometimes focusing on an embarrassing episode or statement from a guest's past. Jack Shafer wrote in ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
'' that "When the host barks questions in your earpiece, you can't help but jolt to life like a puppet on a string", suggesting that successful guests on Carlson's show must match his quick-wittedness and unflappability. Lyz Lenz of the ''Columbia Journalism Review'' wrote that this debate maneuver mirrors Jon Stewart's confrontation of Carlson on ''
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'' in 2004, describing Stewart then and Carlson now as both "com[ing] out of the gate with an impossible line of questioning and a disingenuous defense". Charlotte Alter of ''Time'' wrote in July 2021 that Carlson sometimes tells "outright falsehoods", but generally "avoids assertions that are factually disprovable, instead sticking to innuendo". As an example, Alter wrote that Carlson did not endorse Sidney Powell's specific claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election, but he did say, "The people now telling us to stop asking questions about voting machines are the same ones who claim that our phones weren't listening to us". In September 2020, on ''The Rubin Report'', Carlson said that, unlike TV newscasters who he said "systematically lie", he will only lie "if I'm really cornered or something", saying, "I lie. I really try not to. I try never to lie on TV. ... I don't like lying. I certainly do it, you know, out of weakness or whatever." Bump argued in 2022 that compared with other television anchors, Carlson is loath to acknowledge factual errors in his commentary. Carlson's use of hyperbole as a rhetorical device was cited by Fox News in its successful defense in 2020 of a slander lawsuit by
Karen McDougal Karen McDougal (born March 23, 1971) is an American model and actress. She is known for her appearances in ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month for December 1997 and Playmate of the Year of 1998.Fegley, Richard, & Wayda, Stephen (photog ...
, after Carlson incorrectly argued in 2018 that Donald Trump had been a victim of extortion by McDougal.


Reception

According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', Carlson has been "recognized for his success in helping to bring far-right viewpoints and vocabulary into the mainstream of American politics" through his promotion of "extreme positions on a range of political and social issues, for his embrace of white nationalism, for his support of authoritarian leaders of other countries, and for his regular reliance on arguably false or misleading claims, including baseless conspiracy theories" and for "exert[ing] an unusual influence on Republican Pres. Donald Trump, who was a regular viewer of Carlson's show." In 2021, ''Time (magazine), Time'' said that Carlson could be the most powerful conservative in America, with Republican strategist Jeff Roe adding, "He doesn't react to the agenda, he drives the agenda." Mediaite named Carlson the most influential person in news media in 2021. Tina Brown, the former editor of ''Vanity Fair (magazine), Vanity Fair'' and a former colleague of Carlson, said: "Tucker is a tremendously good writer and I always thought it was a real shame that he kind of got sucked into this TV mania thing." On February 23, 2017, ''The Atlantic'' wrote that "Carlson's true talent is not for political philosophizing, it's for televised partisan combat. His go-to weapons—the smirky sarcasm, the barbed comebacks, the vicious politeness—seem uniquely designed to drive his sparring partners nuts, frequently making for terrific television". On September 19, 2017, journalist Stephen Rodrick wrote in a ''GQ'' profile of Carlson: "On his show, Carlson mocks and verbally body-slams those who disagree with him, a passel of easy marks such as Democratic politicians, well-meaning liberal activists, and young reporters. He shares with Donald Trump a deep reluctance to apologize for his mistakes, and he lobs insults that seem suspiciously like subconscious self-assessments: He loves to accuse his guests of "preening", and he derides "pomposity, smugness, and groupthink". In an interview for a 2021 ''Time'' profile of Carlson, a former News Corp, NewsCorp executive, Alex Azam, described Carlson as having some impunity within Fox News, "because of the signal that touching him would send to the viewers that Fox never wants to lose". In 2021, he was included in the Time 100, ''Time'' 100, ''Time (magazine), Time''s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. In April 2022, ''The New York Times'' published a three-part 20,000-word investigative series on Carlson called "American Nationalist". The investigative series documents Carlson's rise to prominence and his rhetoric on immigration, race relations and the COVID-19 pandemic. Carlson responded by saying that he has not read "American Nationalist" and does not plan to. He also denied allegations from the ''Times'' about obsessing over ratings, saying that "I've never read the ratings a single day in my life. I don't even know how. Ask anyone at Fox." He also claimed to have taken positions unpopular with his audience, saying, "Most of the big positions I've taken in the past five years — against the neoconservatism, neocons, the vax and the war [in Ukraine] — have been very unpopular with our audience at first."


Personal life

Carlson is married to Susan Thomson Carlson (). They met at St. George's School, where she was the daughter of the school's headmaster and priest. They were married on August 10, 1991, in the school chapel. They have four children. Carlson is left-handed and dyslexic. Carlson was baptized as an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopalian but has said he grew up with secular beliefs; he credits his wife for his religious faith. In 2013, Carlson said, "We still go to the Episcopal Church for all kinds of complicated reasons, but I truly despise the Episcopal Church in a lot of ways," citing his opposition to the church's Religious views on same-sex marriage#Episcopal Church of the United States, support for same-sex marriage and Christianity and abortion#The Episcopal Church, abortion rights. He has said he stays in the church because he loves the liturgy and he likes the people. Carlson quit drinking alcohol in 2002. A few years earlier he quit smoking cigarettes (a habit dating to eighth grade) and took up nicotine gum, which he "chews constantly", and nicotine pouches. Carlson is a Deadhead (a fan of the rock band Grateful Dead); he has attended more than fifty Dead concerts and the title of his 2018 book ''Ship of Fools: How a Selfish Ruling Class Is Bringing America to the Brink of Revolution, Ship of Fools'' was inspired by the Grateful Dead From the Mars Hotel, song of the same name. In September 2022, Carlson spoke at the funeral of Hells Angels president Sonny Barger. Carlson said that he had been a fan of Barger since his college years, quoted Barger as saying "stay loyal, remain free, and always value honor", and added "I want to pay tribute to the man who spoke those words".


Published works

* Carlson, Tucker (2003). ''Politicians, Partisans, and Parasites, Politicians, Partisans, and Parasites: My Adventures in Cable News''. New York:
Warner Books Grand Central Publishing is a book publishing imprint of Hachette Book Group, originally established in 1970 as Warner Books when Warner Communications acquired the Paperback Library. When Time Warner sold their book publishing business to Hachet ...
. . * Carlson, Tucker (2018). ''Ship of Fools (book), Ship of Fools: How a Selfish Ruling Class Is Bringing America to the Brink of Revolution''. New York:
Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...
. . * Carlson, Tucker (2021). '' The Long Slide: Thirty Years in American Journalism''. New York:
Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...
. .


Notes


References


External links


Official website

Tucker Carlson
on Fox News Channel * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carlson, Tucker 1969 births Living people 20th-century American Episcopalians 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American Episcopalians 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers Florida Republicans American broadcast news analysts American male journalists American male non-fiction writers American nationalists American people of English descent American people of German descent American people of Swiss-Italian descent American political commentators American political journalists American political writers American television talk show hosts Cato Institute people CNN people COVID-19 conspiracy theorists Fox News people Great Replacement conspiracy theorists The Heritage Foundation Journalists from California Journalists from Florida Journalists from Washington, D.C. MSNBC people Non-interventionism American opinion journalists Paleoconservatism People from Carlsbad, California People from La Jolla, San Diego Right-wing populism in the United States St. George's School (Rhode Island) alumni Television personalities from San Francisco Trinity College (Connecticut) alumni The Weekly Standard people Writers from San Francisco Writers from Washington, D.C. Critics of neoconservatism Male critics of feminism