Tucker Carlson

Tucker Carlson (born May 16, 1969) is an American political news correspondent and conservative commentator. He has hosted the nightly political talk show Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News since 2016.

Early Life & Career Beginnings

Carlson was born in San Francisco, California, to Richard Warner and Lisa McNear Lombardi. His paternal grandfather was a U.S. Senator from South Dakota who served for decades in the Senate during the 1950s to 1970s. After graduating from St. George’s School in Middletown, Rhode Island, he attended Trinity College, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in History before going on to receive his Masters at Yale University studying anthropology and history as well. From 1992 to 2003, he held several positions at The Weekly Standard magazine, including contributing editor and staff writer, covering many topics such as politics, foreign policy, and media criticism among others. In 2001-2002, he worked for CNN’s Crossfire program, which allowed him to tap into the national television audience. During this period of time, Carlson also wrote articles for Esquire Magazine, Newsweek, New York Times Magazine, and Salon.

Fox News Channel

In 2009, after leaving MSNBC due to low ratings, Tucker joined Fox News Channel, hosting their primetime programming originally called “The Situation” between 6 pm – 8 pm ET. Later that year, it would be renamed “Tucker”. In 2014, FNC announced that they were moving Carlson to the 7 pm slot, replacing Greta Van Susteren. On November 14, 2016, Fox renewed its contract with Carlson, keeping him through 2020. That same month, it was revealed that Carlson’s new program would replace Megyn Kelly’s 9 pm time slot, making him one of two cable news hosts with programs airing back-to-back, led by Sean Hannity, who airs immediately prior. Since 2017, when Tucker’s show began airing, there has been a three-year consecutive increase in viewership across all demographics, being the highest-rated show within the 25-54 age bracket. He covers a wide range of issues ranging from politics, government, social issues, and religion while featuring guest interviews discussing those matters.

Political Views

Carlson is known primarily as a conservative political analyst, criticizing leftism or liberalism, usually voicing his opinion against progressive ideas, social justice movements, and other various left-wing principles. He often speaks out against socialism, labeling it as an outdated and dangerous proposal. He also speaks out about big government overreach, advocating for limited government intervention, especially fiscal policies, arguing that what works best should be based on free market solutions, not relying heavily on government’s aid. As far as immigration goes, he’s much more moderate, favoring a merit-based immigration system rather than an open-door policy. However, despite this stance, he refuses citizenship amnesty for illegal immigrants, stating that doing so will create too much competition for low-wage jobs for native Americans. Furthermore, he showed support towards Trump Administration Policies, particularly tax cuts, tariffs, trade deals, USMCA, NAFTA, immigration, wall funding, creation of the Space Force, military spending, and foreign policy, supporting Israel.