Tucker Carlson
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About
Tucker Carlson is an American political commentator, co-founder of the conservative website The Daily Caller and a former host of the Fox News current affairs program Tucker Carlson Tonight.
Career
Prior to working in television, Carlson began his career as a journalist at the national conservative journal Policy Review, later being hired to editorial staff at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and The Weekly Standard. In 2000, Carlson became the co-host of The Spin Room with Bill Press, becoming the youngest anchor ever hired at CNN.
Crossfire
In 2001, Carlson replaced Mary Matalin as a co-host on the CNN debate program Crossfire. On October 15th, 2004, Jon Stewart appeared as a guest on the show, where he criticized hosts Paul Begala and Carlson for being “partisan hacks” and “hurting America” with polarized political rhetoric. Following the appearance, videos of the exchange spread widely across the Internet with many praising Stewart’s arguments. The following year, the show was canceled and CNN’s incoming president Jonathan Klein referenced Stewart’s comments when asked about the year’s cancellations.[9] On January 16th, 2006, YouTuber Alex Felker uploaded a clip of the appearance, which gained over 8.4 million views and 15,800 comments over the next nine years (shown below).
Tucker
In June 2005, Carlson's early evening program Tucker premiered on MSNBC, which lasted for only three seasons before being canceled for low ratings in March 2008.
The Daily Caller
On January 11th, 2010, Carlson and political advisor Neil Patel launched the conservative news site The Daily Caller.[1] Carlson served as the site's editor-in-chief for several years before leaving to work on his Fox News television program Tucker Carlson Tonight.
Tucker Carlson Tonight
On November 14th, 2016, Carlson premiered on Fox News as a replacement for the show On the Record following Greta Van Susteren's departure from the network. In early January 2017, Fox announced the show would replace The Kelly File after Megyn Kelly left the network. In late April 2017, Fox News announced that Tucker Carlson Tonight would replace The O'Reilly Factor for the network's 8pm timeslot, following the termination of Bill O'Reilly.
Controversies
Smash Racism DC Protest
On November 7th, 2018, the @SmashRacismDC Twitter account tweeted video footage of activists ringing the doorbell and chanting "Tucker Carlson, we will fight! We know where you sleep at night!" outside Carlson's home near Washington, DC. The tweet has since been deleted.
The following morning, The Washington Post[5] published an interview with Carlson, in which he described talking to his wife during the incident, who locked herself in the pantry and called the police thinking she was experiencing a home invasion.
"I called my wife. She had been in the kitchen alone getting ready to go to dinner and she heard pounding on the front door and screaming. … Someone started throwing himself against the front door and actually cracked the front door."
That day, the @SmashRacismDC tweet was reposted to /r/ChapoTrapHouse,[4] where many users praised the protest. Meanwhile, Vox co-founder Matthew Yglesias tweeted about the incident, saying that while he thinks the protest was "tactically unwise," he was unable to "empathize" with Carlson's family (shown below).
That same day, comedian Stephen Colbert tweeted that "terrorizing his family is an act of monstrous cowardice" (shown below, left). Later that day, Twitter user KrangTNelson posted a tweet mocking those on the left who denounced the protesters at Carlson's home (shown below, right).
2018 Immigration Comments Backlash
On December 13th, 2018, on his Fox News show, Tucker Carlson said of immigration,[6] "Our leaders demand that you shut up and accept this. We have a moral obligation to admit the world’s poor, they tell us, even if it makes our own country poorer and dirtier and more divided. Immigration is a form of atonement." The segment ended with an advertisement for the Pacific Life insurance company (shown below).
The following day, on December 14th, the Twitter[7] account for Pacific Life tweeted a message from the company. They wrote, "One of our ads appeared on Tucker Carlson's show last night a segment where Mr. Carlton made a number of statement regarding immigration. As a company, we strongly disagree with Mr. Carlson's statements[…]We will not be advertising on Mr. Carlson's show in the coming weeks as we reevaluate our relationship with his program." The tweet received more than 5,900 retweets and 27,000 likes in one week (shown below, left).
On December 19th, HuffPost reporter Kyle Griffin tweeted[8] a list of 19 companies that have pulled advertising from Carlson's show. The post received more than 1,600 retweets and 4,200 likes in 24 hours (shown below, center). The following day, that number had increased to 21 companies.[9]
That day, Twitter[10] user @tonyposnanski tweeted, "Dear FOX News, Advertisers pulling ads isn’t censorship. Advertisers pulling ads is 'Hey, we don’t want to spend our money promoting a fucking racist asshole like Tucker Carlson.' Understand the difference." The tweet received more than 5,600 retweets and 29,000 likes in 24 hours (shown below, right).
In a statement,[11] Fox News said, "It is a shame that left-wing advocacy groups, under the guise of being supposed 'media watchdogs' weaponize social media against companies in an effort to stifle free speech. We continue to stand by and work with our advertisers through these unfortunate and unnecessary distractions."
That day, New Yor Times and 538 writer Nate Silver responded to a comment from Jack Schafer about advertiser boycotts. He tweeted,[12] "Jack is right. The logical endpoint of deeming advertisers to have endorsed the political messages of the shows they run ads on is that only milquetoast both-sidesism with a pro-corportate bent will be advertising-supported, if any political content is ad-supported at all." The tweet received more than 660 retweets and 3,000 likes in two days (shown below, left).
The advocacy group Sleeping Giants responded, "You are speaking as a publisher, not a citizen. If you’re a person of color or a member of the LGBTQ community or an immigrant, these companies are literally footing the bill for you to be vilified every week. Bigotry should not be deemed political. That’s a big part of the issue." Silver replied,[13] "In fact, I am gay, and I'm just old enough (40) to remember when conservative groups urged boycotts of advertisers and networks who were seen as promoting LGBTQ or other 'nontraditional' lifestyles. That strongly influences my views on this subject!" The tweet received more than 470 retweets and 5,000 likes in 24 hours (shown below, right).
On December 18th, Tucker Carlson claimed that the criticisms made against him were an attack on free speech and the truth. In the segment, he seemed to attempt to prove his point that immigration makes an area "dirtier" literally by focusing on the cleanliness of one of the towns affected by the 2018 Honduras Caravan. He said to his critics that he would not be intimidated.
Media Matters president Angelo Carusone said in a statement, "Don’t let Fox News distract, deflect, or deceive. This isn’t about Media Matters, Sleeping Giants, or activists. No one forced Tucker Carlson’s odious bigotry and fixation on white genocide conspiracy theories. And that’s what advertisers are rejecting."[9]
On December 19th, advocacy group Sleeping Giants tweeted that SodaStream was pulling its support from the show. They tweeted, " @SodaStreamUSA will no longer be advertising on Tucker Carlson Tonight." The tweet received more than 160 retweets and 1,100 likes in 24 hours (shown below, left).
The following day, the Graze food company announced they would be pulling support, after they were included on a list of companies that still advertised on Carlson's show. They wrote, "Thanks for bringing this to our attention. We've asked our advertising partner to avoid this show in future as it goes against our brand values" (shown below, right).
As of December 20th, at least 25 companies had pulled their support from the show. Additionally, Axios[16] included statements from companies that had ended their relationship with the show and those who had not.
Advertisers pulling out:
Indeed: "Indeed is not currently advertising on Tucker Carlson Tonight and has no plans to advertise on this program in the future."
Leesa: “We do not currently have any media buys planned with Tucker Carlson Tonight."
TD Ameritrade: "Our intent is to remain politically neutral … Once news broke about this issue, we instructed our media buying team to avoid the show in the future,”
Sandisk: "We embrace diversity and inclusion, and work with advertising partners who share our core values.”
Graze: "We've asked our advertising partner to avoid this show in future as it goes against our brand values."
Lexus: “Our regional advertising groups have decided to suspend all advertising on this particular program until further notice."
Harris Teeter: "Harris Teeter doesn’t purchase advertising during this show, sometimes cable companies place ads to fill time. We were unaware and have reached out and asked that Harris Teeter ads not be ran during this time in the future!"
IHOP: "[W]e stand for welcoming folks from all backgrounds and beliefs into our restaurants and continually evaluate ad placements to ensure they align with our values. In this case, we will no longer be advertising on this show."
Voya Financial: "We have no scheduled spots on Tucker Carlson. We're committed to diversity, inclusion and equality -- and respect for all individuals."
Just for Men: "Just for Men has no further plans to advertise on Tucker Carlson's show. The brand is always considering ways to remain responsible, and this includes aligning with partners who share our brand value."
Pacific Life: "As a company, we strongly disagree with Mr. Carlson's statements. … We will not be advertising on Mr. Carlson's show in the coming weeks as we reevaluate our relationship with his program."
Zenni Optical told the Hollywood Reporter on Monday that it had pulled its advertisements "effective yesterday."
NerdWallet also told the Hollywood Reporter it was pulling advertising and will "be reevaluating any ongoing advertising with this program."
Bowflex parent company Nautilus: "We can confirm that Nautilus, Inc. parent company for Bowflex, has pulled its ads from the Tucker Carlson Tonight show. … Aside from our decision to remove our ads from his show, we have no other association or affiliation with Mr. Carlson."
Minted: "We do not agree with Mr. Carlson's comments and his opinions are not consistent with the values we hold…That being said, we are permanently discontinuing advertising on this particular program."
SmileDirectClub said they're "actively working with our media buyers to confirm that SmileDirectClub is no longer running our ads around any political opinion shows."
United Explorer credit card: "We have stopped advertising on the Tucker Carlson Tonight show."
Jaguar Land Rover: "Jaguar Land Rover has rarely advertised on the show and does not have any plans for it going forward."
Ancestry.com: "We are not advertising at this time."
SCOTTeVEST: "We have instructed our media buyers to pull any future ads from that program."
SodaStream: "SodaStream has asked Fox to remove us from this time slot."
CareerBuilder: "Our purpose at CareerBuilder is to help people build a life that works. Not some people. All people. … Which is why, last Friday, we permanently suspended advertising on some Fox programming, including Tucker Carlson Tonight."
United Explorer: "We have stopped advertising on the Tucker Carlson Tonight show."
Takeda: "We have pulled our advertising off of Tucker's show."
Robitussin, per Pfizer spokesperson to THR's Jeremy Barr: "We are no longer advertising on the program."
Samsung: "We do not have any advertising planned at this time, for this program."
Advertisers who have publicly said they're staying put:
Mitsubishi: "Our advertising media spend is determined based on demographics and psychographics, not politics. … We will monitor the situation and adjust our advertising if necessary."
AstraZeneca: "The content and opinions of the outlets, networks or websites for which we advertise are not reflective of our views or values as a company. However, as a standard practice, we regularly monitor our media programming to ensure its aligned to our corporate values. As such, we will continue to assess our advertising purchases regarding the heightened attention surrounding this matter."
John Deere: "John Deere is an advertiser on the Fox Network. Our ads appear on various shows on the network."
Farmers Insurance: "Advertising decisions made by Farmers should not be construed to be an endorsement of any kind as to a show's content or the individuals appearing on the show."
Gold Bond producer, Sanofi: "Sanofi purchases advertising time and space in contracts negotiated far in advance and our advertising is never an endorsement of a show and/or the content of a show."
Bayer: "Given the wide diversity of media today and wide range of public opinion on any given issue, it would be an impossible task to find a major television or radio network whose entire programming schedule appears to all audiences. … We also value the opinions of our consumers, and take them into considering when making advertising placement decisions."
GMC, per THR's Jeremy Barr: "We are monitoring the situation. We have no additional comment."
Infiniti USA, also per Barr: "We are currently looking into this matter."
Rutger Bregman Interview
On February 20th, 2019, NowThis tweeted footage of an unaired interview between Dutch historian Rutger Bregman and Tucker Carlson. Bregman had recently risen to fame when he attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he told the billionaires and CEOs in attendance that their taxes needed to be raised. [17] On Carlson's show, Bregman told Carlson he was "a millionaire funded by billionaires" and that he was unconvinced by Carlson's recent admiration of politicians like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Carlson, angered, said to Bregman, "why don’t you go fuck yourself, you tiny brain -- and I hope this gets picked up because you’re a moron, I tried to give you a hearing but you were too fucking annoying."[18] On February 11th, Bregman had tweeted that the interview had taken place and alleged that he had received an email from Carlson that directly called him an "asshole."[19]
Watch Fox News host Tucker Carlson call one of his guests a 'tiny brain…moron' during an interview. NowThis has obtained the full segment with historian Rutger Bregman that Fox News is refusing to air. pic.twitter.com/kERYPUaGLY
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 20, 2019
Twitter user @onlxn joked about the exchange and Carlson's supposed shift to Conservative populism (shown below, left). User @RobRousseau tweeted "Tucker Carlson doesn't seem to like getting called out for being a pampered media millionaire that is paid to scapegoat immigrants for problems his elite corporate owners have caused" (shown below, right).
Firing From Fox News
On April 24th, 2023, Tucker Carlson was fired from Fox News suddenly. The move was announced via a press release from Fox News. The abrupt firing led to speculation of an internal, unreleased reason for the firing, perhaps a developing scandal or the Dominion lawsuit against Fox News costing the company $785 million.[20]
Online Presence
Fandom
In May 2014, a page for Carlson was created on Facebook,[2] which gathered upwards of 183,000 likes within the next three years. On November 22nd, 2016, the /r/tucker_carlson[3] subreddit was launched for discussions about political commentator, which gained over 8,500 subscriptions within four months. In December, the High Energy YouTube channel released the first volume in their Can't Cuck the Tuck series, featuring MLG-style remixes of Carlson's interviews on Tucker Carlson Tonight. Over the next several months, an additional 17 videos in the series were released. Meanwhile, Twitter user @KrangTNelson posted a tweet mocking those who denounced the protest.
Search Interest
External References
[1] The Daily Caller – The Daily Caller
[2] Facebook – Tucker Carlson
[3] Reddit – /r/tucker_carlson
[4] Reddit – /r/ChapoTrapHouse
[5] The Washington Post – They were threatening me and my family
[6] The Washington Post – More companies pull ads from Tucker Carlson’s show in growing backlash over immigrant comments
[7] Twitter – @pacificlife's Tweet
[8] Twitter – @kylegriffin1's Tweet
[9] The Wrap – Tucker Carlson Dropped by at Least 21 Advertisers Over Immigration Comments
[10] Twitter – @tonyposnanski's Tweet
[11] CNBC – Fox News host Tucker Carlson faces advertiser backlash over immigration comments
[12] Twitter – @NateSilver538's Tweet
[13] Twitter – @NateSilver538's Tweet
[14] Twitter – @slpng_giants's Tweet
[15] Twitter – @grazeusa's Tweet
[16] Axios – At least 25 advertisers drop Tucker Carlson over immigration remarks
[17] Vox – Meet the folk hero of Davos the writer who told the rich to stop dodging taxes
[18] Vox – Tucker Carlson had a total meltdown when a guest criticized Fox News
[19] Twitter – Rutger Bregman
[20] Reuters – Fox News, Tucker Carlson part ways days after Dominion lawsuit settlement
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