Tucker Carlson, the Fox News host who has the number one highest-rated show in all of cable television news, had a questionable episode April 11. Carlson, who in private has said former President Donald Trump is “demonic” and a “destroyer,” appeared to give him a soft ball interview in which Carlson failed to push back on several of Trump’s trademark over-the-top comments.
Carlson has been named in a $1.6 billion lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News for defamation after the 2020 presidential election. Dominion has targeted Carlson as a witness when the case goes to trial. The discovery process unearthed emails and text messages from Carlson to various Fox employees in which he castigated Trump.
On January 21, 2021, after the January 6 insurrection, Carlson was frustrated by Trump’s actions leading up to the riot.
Carlson Sings a Different Tune
“We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can’t wait,” he texted an unidentified co-worker. “I hate him passionately. … I can’t handle much more of this,” he said.
But Carlson had a chance during the interview with Trump to tell the world how he really felt about the former president. Instead, Carlson remained mostly silent during the sit-down as Trump went through his usual grievances and divisive rhetoric.
Now He Lauds Donald Trump
“For a man caricatured as an extremist, we think you’ll find what he has to say moderate, sensible, and wise,” Carlson explained. The Fox News firebrand also said it is the “Neo-con media establishment” which is painting Trump as a “dangerous lunatic.”
Don’t Make MAGA Faithful Mad
In fairness to Carlson, the anchor has a right to change his mind about Trump. January 6 is an event that is over two years old, and time can heal old wounds. But a more cynical analysis of the latest Carlson-Trump discussion is that Fox News is again worried about ratings and does not want to upset MAGA Republicans. The network knows it must cover Trump throughout the presidential nomination process, and a friendly interview will keep the former president from criticizing the conservative television empire.
Carlson Has Dynamite Ratings
Carlson routinely ranks number one or two in cable news ratings. In February, he attracted 3.5 million viewers to Tucker Carlson Tonight. In March, after Carlson and his staff combed through 41,000 hours of January 6 footage, Carlson had 3.8 million people tune in to his show.
Thus, Carlson is a ratings juggernaut for the network, even though at times he has rankled and lost advertisers for his controversial comments. He is an enemy of progressives who believe that Carlson embarks on anti-immigrant rhetoric and other conservative views.
Carlson likes to take the contrarian view and fashions himself a straight-shooter. He is not afraid to criticize Democrats and Republicans. But despite the right-wing bluster, Carlson can be harmless, even though he is hated by the left. He is not always so polarizing. He has a long-form interview program in which he highlights authors and other opinion leaders who have made contributions to the public discourse that Carlson believes is important to publicize. These interviews are less controversial and generally informative without his usual bluster.
But the latest interview with Trump is curious. What exactly is the popular host’s real feelings about the ex-president? Is Carlson being hypocritical or has he changed his mind about Trump? Carlson will be under oath during the Dominion trial, and he will have to answer for the texts and emails where he criticized Trump but also allegedly defamed the voting technology company at the same time. Carlson may not be able to hide from tough questioning, so he may want to get his story straight before he takes the witness stand.
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Author Expertise and Experience:
Serving as 19FortyFive’s Defense and National Security Editor, Dr. Brent M. Eastwood is the author of Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare. He is an Emerging Threats expert and former U.S. Army Infantry officer. You can follow him on Twitter @BMEastwood. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and Foreign Policy/ International Relations.
