For the uninitiated outside America Tucker Carlson may not be a very well known entity, but he should gradually become one. The Fox News host of the Tucker Carlson Tonight show airing at 8pm every evening has had an unparalleled surge in popularity among conservative circles and is on the verge of superstar status. His show has recently become the most-watched in the history of the nation, beating out all the other incumbents across America’s TV media spectrum.
He was previously widely remembered for a controversial interview of comedian Jon Stewart on CNN’s Crossfire show in 2004, when a notorious Stewart launched into a tirade of criticisms against his hosts’ political opinions, particularly Carlson’s on the right, that ended in profanities on the guest’s part, instead of promoting a book he wrote. Carlson finally and irreversibly hit this author’s radar when his show replaced erstwhile media shooting star Megan Kelly’s The Kelly File in 2017.
The meteoric rise in ratings culminated in Tucker Carlson Tonight becoming America’s highest-rated cable news show in June, toppling previous incumbents like Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham from Fox, as well as Rachel Maddow from MSNBC. Fame doesn’t come without a price to pay. His brutal criticism of the Black Lives Matter movement recently has caused some companies to pull their advertisement from the show. Despite the commercial fallout Fox does seem to stand by their man, however.
Carlson’s success is no doubt based on America’s Donald Trump phenomenon. Comparing him to the diehard Trump supporter Sean Hannity would miss the mark. He has probably become the better face and more eloquent version of Fox’s Trumpism. As opposed to Hannity, Carlson does not shy away from criticising the president, his policies as well as his immediate family, if need be. And still, as Steve Bannon is on the record as saying, the Fox host might be the most influential advisor to Trump these days.
One may materially differ with Carlson’s ideology and views, but he is relentlessly staying his ultra-conservative course and commands an unparalleled ability to challenge groupthink and political correctness, across the aisles. He has been judging Republicans harshly on numerous occasions, dismissing the likes of Nikki Haley for her reaction to the George Floyd killing and even openly lambasting the president’s son-in-law for allegedly steering Trump off course.
At the same time, he is most objective and fair about strands of the opposing party he reckons have his Republican trait. I am reminded of him being the only one at Fox who has openly given Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard the floor on her critical stance of America’s foreign interventionism, including Syria and all, and inviting her back to the show, on numerous occasions and despite Fox’s nominal and obvious political lenience.
As a result of this, Carlson has made quite a few enemies in the Republican Party. As Politico worked out in a
piece over the weekend, however, his sharp mind and popularity have made Carlson not just a potential candidate but a logical one to run for president in the future. This may be a daring and little bombastic of a forecast, and it is clearly far-fetched as we are talking about 2024, but I laud the publication to think out aloud what party circles in the background may already be contemplating.
If Trump wins re-election, it looks like Carlson will be by his side for another four years, in whatever formal or informal capacity, building himself up to carry the Trump banner into the next term. If Biden were to win, the party could soon zoom in on him to become a broader-based candidate than Trump for 2024, a new figurehead for a new era of Republicanism, but without Trump’s baggage and hostage-taking of the party.
Carlson no doubt combines all the ingredients. He would be in his mid-50s in 2024, easily young enough to be a 2-termer. He exemplifies the charms of the American dream, in family life and professionally, and in a much less controversial way than Trump does. To be sure, he would be another celebrity candidate, but in this day and age, a prospect needs to command a sizeable communication platform to be successful anyway.
And look around…! Being confused almost daily by the ever weirder messaging of the White House’s inner circle, such as Peter Navarro whose incredible interview I shared yesterday, or Mike Pompeo who has migrated from secretary of state to propagandist-in-chief, or once-credible-as-mayor Rudy Giuliani who’s made it his mission to dig ever deeper into a hole… Tucker Carlson is naturally a breath of fresh air. The stars seem to be aligning, as Politico puts it. The only question is… Will Tucker want to do this?
What does all this mean for us here in Asia, you might ask? Well, it’s all about sketching a potential future into an era when America will still be a sole superpower. It is being ahead of the curve, particularly since Carlson is an America First proponent and has so far aligned himself with the hostilities and accusations against China. This means something when that person commands an American audience in the tens of millions.
Also, Carlson is not driven by Trump’s vanity but deep-seated ideology, which wouldn’t necessarily make him a US president of choice for China. If I was the Beijing leadership or any leadership on the globe for that matter, I would take note and start doing my homework on this guy now.
