Tucker Carlson has returned to the airwaves for the first time since his last show on April 21.
Key Details
- Less than seven weeks after his abrupt firing from Fox News, news anchor Tucker Carlson has launched his brand new show Tucker On Twitter.
- The show launched its first episode on Tuesday night and has grossed more than 80 million views and growing in less than 24 hours.
- Comparatively, Jesse Waters Primetime is the second most-watched news show on television, and it averages 14 million viewers per night in May.
- The low-budget production is being scrutinized by critics, who argue that the new show is “sad” and that he is “nothing without Fox News,” Business Insider argues.
- Carlson’s first 10-minute broadcast discussed the Kakhovka dam collapse in Ukraine, scrutinized the leadership of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and discussed 9/11 conspiracies, UFOs, the BlackLivesMatter, and transgenderism.
Why It’s Important
Even as many mainstream media sources are facing layoffs and executives being fired, the firing of Tucker Carlson marked one of the largest departures in recent months. Tucker Carlson Tonight was the highest-rated news show in the U.S. and a large percentage of his audience has followed him to Twitter, where his show will be exclusively broadcast going forward. Carlson may well be the first major voice from the older guard of the news media to embrace the new status quo of online media while older newspapers and television stations shrink.
The broadcast can either be viewed as a victory for Carlson and his fans or a sad approximation of his towering heights as the former most popular news host in American politics. With Fox News having removed the majority of his studio’s filming equipment and staff, Tucker appears to be operating the show mostly by himself, with former CNN anchor Brian Stelter pointing out that Carlson appears to be operating his own teleprompter.
Alternative Opinions
Technology journalist Taylor Lorenz tweeted critically against the show, saying, “It’s wild to see what a fish out of water he is on the internet: no jump cuts, no background music, no catchy thumbnail or video title. Not sure how he will stack up against even an average streamer or YouTuber.”
MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan mocked the presentation and compared the show to the ravings of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, saying, “I kid you not, but Tucker Carlson’s first episode of his new Twitter show—basically him doing a monologue and scrolling through his own teleprompter—said we should be asking more questions about what happened on 9/11 and insisted we have proof that UFOs are real. Watch out!”