Tucker Carlson

Tucker Carlson
Carlson in 2023
Born
Tucker McNear Carlson

(1969-05-16) May 16, 1969 (age 54)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
EducationTrinity College, Hartford (BA)
Occupations
  • Television journalist
  • commentator
  • columnist
  • writer
Employers
Television
Political partyRepublican (since 2020)
Other political
affiliations
Democratic[a] (2006–2020)
Movement
  • Conservatism
Spouse
Susan Andrews
(m. 1991)
Children4
Parent
Websitetuckercarlson.com

Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson (born May 16, 1969) is an American conservative political commentator and writer who hosted the nightly political talk show Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News from 2016 to 2023. Since his contract with Fox News was terminated, he has hosted Tucker on X. An advocate of former U.S. President Donald Trump, Carlson has been described as "perhaps the highest-profile proponent of 'Trumpism'",[3] and as "the most influential voice in right-wing media, without a close second."[4]

Carlson began his media career in the 1990s, writing for The Weekly Standard and other publications. He was a CNN commentator from 2000 to 2005 and a co-host of Crossfire, the network's prime-time news debate program, from 2001 to 2005. From 2005 to 2008, he hosted the nightly program Tucker on MSNBC. In 2009, he became a political analyst for Fox News, appearing on various programs before launching his own 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, until selling his ownership stake and leaving in 2020.[5] He has written three books: Politicians, Partisans, and Parasites (2003), Ship of Fools (2018), and The Long Slide (2021).

Described as a leading voice of White grievance politics,[6][7][8][9] Carlson is known for circulating far-right ideas into mainstream politics and discourse.[8][9][10][11] He has promoted conspiracy theories on topics such as demographic replacement,[9][12][13] COVID-19,[14][15] the January 6 United States Capitol attack,[16][17] and Ukrainian bioweapons;[18][19] and has been noted for false and misleading statements about these and other topics.[8][9][17][20][21] Carlson's remarks on race, immigration, and women – including slurs he said on air between 2006 and 2011[22][23] – have been described by some as racist and sexist, and provoked advertiser boycotts of Tucker Carlson Tonight.[24][25][26][27] In April 2023, Fox News dismissed Carlson and canceled his show without any explanation.[28][29][30][31][32][33] Tucker Carlson Tonight had at that point been one of the most-watched cable news shows in the country. Carlson was among the hosts named in the Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News Network defamation lawsuit for broadcasting false statements about the plaintiff company's voting machines that Fox News settled for $787.5 million and required Fox News to acknowledge that the broadcast statements were false.[34][35]

Carlson is a critic of immigration.[36] Formerly an economic libertarian, he now supports protectionism.[37][38] In 2004, he renounced his initial support for the Iraq War,[39][40] and has since been skeptical of U.S. foreign interventions.[37][41] 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 dismissal of John Bolton as National Security Advisor the same year, and the commutation of Roger Stone's prison sentence in 2020, and would criticize Trump when he believed he was straying from "Trumpism".[42][43][44][45][46] Carlson has often defended Russian President Vladimir Putin. In February 2024, he became the first Western journalist to interview Putin since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fighting-Words was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Lange, Jeva (April 3, 2017). "Tucker Carlson tried to join the CIA". The Week. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  3. ^ Thompson, Alex (July 2, 2020). "Tucker Carlson 2024? The GOP is buzzing". Politico. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  4. ^ Marantz, Andrew (April 25, 2023). "The World According to Tucker Carlson". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  5. ^ Hagey, Keach (June 10, 2020). "Fox News Host Tucker Carlson Leaves the Daily Caller". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference grievance was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference anxiety was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Confessore1_4/30/2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference britannica was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Carless, Will; Sankin, Aaron (December 7, 2018). "The Hate Report: What white nationalists think about Tucker Carlson". Reveal. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Forward 2019-03-17 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference replacement was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Alter, Charlotte (July 15, 2021). "Talking With Tucker Carlson, the Most Powerful Conservative in America". Time. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  14. ^ Bella, Timothy (July 29, 2021). "Tucker Carlson falsely claims Anthony S. Fauci 'created' covid". The Washington Post.
  15. ^ DiResta, Renée (April 24, 2021). "The Anti-Vaccine Influencers Who Are Merely Asking Questions". The Atlantic. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference theory was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference politifact was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ "Why Did Tucker Carlson Echo Russian Bioweapons Propaganda On His Top-Rated Show?". NPR. March 29, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  19. ^ Ling, Justin (March 18, 2022). "How 'Ukrainian bioweapons labs' myth went from QAnon fringe to Fox News". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference WaPo Bump 2022-01-14 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference Science 2022-08-25 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference audio was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference WaPo recordings was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Stelter, Brian (April 9, 2021). "ADL calls on Fox News to fire Tucker Carlson over racist comments about 'replacement' theory". CNN. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tucker Carlson's Weekly TV Ratings Rise Despite Boycotts was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ Stelter, Brian (June 12, 2020). "Tucker Carlson ad boycott causes headaches for Fox News". CNN. Archived from the original on September 3, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  27. ^ Johnson, Ted (June 1, 2022). "Fox News Tops May Cable News Ratings As 'The Five' Ranks No. 1 In Total Viewers". Deadline. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  28. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  30. ^ Levine, Sam (April 25, 2023). "Tucker Carlson leaves Fox News – reportedly fired by Rupert Murdoch". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  31. ^ Graham, David A. (April 24, 2023). "Tucker's Successor Will Be Worse". The Atlantic. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  32. ^ Barr, Jeremy; Ellison, Sarah (April 24, 2023). "Tucker Carlson is out at Fox News after Dominion lawsuit disclosures". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286.
  33. ^ Robertson, Katie (April 24, 2023). "In a Lawsuit, Tucker Carlson Is Accused of Promoting a Hostile Work Environment". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  34. ^ Folkenflik, David; Yang, Mary (April 18, 2023). "Fox News settles blockbuster defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems". NPR. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  35. ^ Davis, Eric (March 31, 2023). "Summary Judgment" (PDF). Superior Court of the State of Delaware. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  36. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wapo.Horton was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  37. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference what does was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  38. ^ Hunter, Jack (June 7, 2019). "Tucker Carlson thinks libertarians run the economy. That's news to Ron Paul". The Washington Examiner.
  39. ^ Carlson, Tucker (August 30, 2004). "Republican Convention: Tucker Carlson". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
  40. ^ Coppins, McKay (February 23, 2017). "Tucker Carlson: The Bow-Tied Bard of Populism". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on February 13, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  41. ^ Cite error: The named reference neocons was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  42. ^ Cite error: The named reference iran-strike was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  43. ^ Baker, Peter; Haberman, Maggie; LaFraniere, Sharon (July 10, 2020). "Trump Commutes Sentence of Roger Stone in Case He Long Denounced". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  44. ^ Bella, Timothy (February 20, 2020). "Trump, tweeting a Tucker Carlson segment, hints of possible pardon for Roger Stone". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  45. ^ Porter, Tom (September 11, 2019). "Tucker Carlson took a victory lap over John Bolton's ousting, after reports he lobbied Trump to fire him". Business Insider. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  46. ^ Johnson, Eliana (September 10, 2019). "Inside Trump and Bolton's spectacular split". Politico. Retrieved January 8, 2022.


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