AMAC Exclusive – By Aaron Flanigan
Tucker Carlson broke the internet once again last week with a viral video interview with a man who alleges he had an affair and did hard drugs with Barack Obama while the former president was still a state legislator in Illinois. The clip has amassed some 35 million views as of Sunday evening, marking the latest example of how Carlson’s star power has been supercharged since moving from his old Fox News slot to becoming an independent broadcaster on X (Twitter).
In early May, following his controversial ouster from Fox, Carlson took to Twitter to announce that he would be launching a new show following a similar format as his primetime cable program with both monologues and extensive interviews.
But one major difference was that Carlson would be unrestrained by the restrictions previously imposed on him by Fox executives. “You can’t have a free society if people aren’t allowed to say what they think is true,” Carlson said in the video announcement.
“Amazingly… there aren’t many platforms left that allow free speech,” he continued, before hailing Twitter (now X) as the last remaining sanctuary for free speech and “the place where our national conversation incubates and develops” before going on to deride national news organizations as “thinly disguised propaganda outlets.”
If the first several months of his new endeavor have served as any indication, Tucker on X has been a massive success – even more so than his Tucker Carlson Tonight tenure.
The 54-year-old’s first episode garnered a jaw-dropping 120 million views. Although Twitter views aren’t measured by the same metrics as Nielsen TV ratings, it seems safe to say that Carlson is far exceeded the 3-6 million nightly viewers he averaged at Fox.
While viewership has dropped off somewhat since then, Carlson still easily laps the most popular cable news shows, a reflection of how his reach has increased since setting off on his own.
Meanwhile, Fox has struggled. In May, the network lost a whopping 32 percent of its primetime viewership, although ratings have somewhat rebounded in subsequent months.
Carlson’s greatest success on X thus far came in August, when he interviewed former president and 2024 frontrunner Donald Trump on the same night as Fox News hosted a debate with the other GOP hopefuls. To date, the Trump-Tucker interview has received upwards of 260 million views, making it the single most-watched interview on record.
Meanwhile, the Fox News debate saw just over 15 million viewers.
Carlson’s other notable guests have included Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, Democrat presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and ex-Hunter Biden business associate Devon Archer.
But despite the show’s unprecedented success, it has not been without controversy. Carlson has received harsh criticism from fellow conservatives for platforming pornographer and alleged human trafficker Andrew Tate on his show. He has also been criticized for interviewing Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, who has come under fire by some on the right for his personal behavior.
Nonetheless, Tucker on X has been a hit—and could very well be a preview for the future of conservative media. As AMAC Newsline’s Shane Harris previously observed, “platforms like podcasts, YouTube, and especially X under the leadership of Elon Musk have far more reach and influence than the mainstream media ever even dreamed of having”—a phenomenon that has “fundamentally altered the way most Americans get their information and what information they receive.”
But above all, Carlson’s success on X demonstrates that his power in the conservative movement is not going anywhere anytime soon. Just days before he was terminated by Fox, Carlson delivered a riveting speech at the Heritage Foundation’s 50th anniversary gala in Washington, D.C. “What you’re watching is not a political movement. It’s evil,” he said in his remarks, referring to the left’s efforts to undermine traditional American values and tear down key American institutions.
“The second you decide to tell the truth about something, you are filled with this… power from somewhere else,” he continued. “Try it. Tell the truth about something. You feel it every day. The more you tell the truth, the stronger you become. That’s completely real. It’s measurable in the way that you feel.”
As most conservatives know, Carlson has built his reputation largely from his fearless truth telling and asking the questions that everyone else is afraid to ask. Even in the face of relentless smears from the left, the establishment right, and the corporate media, Carlson has stood strong in his views, and—along with figures like Donald Trump—has helped to remold the conservative movement into an entity that fights for its values and works to advance the will of the American people.
Whether he’s on Fox, X, or on any other platform, it seems clear that Tucker Carlson will not be silenced from speaking his mind and telling the truth—and for that, the conservative movement can be grateful.
Aaron Flanigan is the pen name of a writer in Washington, D.C.
As the owners of FOX have continued to transform the network into their vision of a CNN-like network to appeal to the same low information audience that CNN, MSNBC and the 3 MSM networks all cater to, it was clear Tucker Carlson and several other on-air personalities of the network would no longer fit into the new “Progressive vision”. As a result, the ratings at FOX have continued to decline. Which is of course perfectly in-line with how the other progressive networks have all fared. Today, FOX is literally unwatchable, as most of the hosts and on-air guests simply push the same leftist narrative in a slightly less vitriolic manner. I’m sure over time, FOX will end up sounding just like the rest of the progressive bunch.
At the end of the day, Tucker Carlson will do just fine at X or wherever he ultimately chooses to operate from as long as he continues to present hard news unencumbered by the leftist bias that shapes so much of what the other MSM networks focus on promoting to an increasingly ignorant and uniformed public.
I’m sure at some point, as our nation continues its descent into authoritarian rule, there may come a day when Carlson, and others like him, finds himself on the receiving end of an unexpected FBI raid for so-called “domestic terrorism” for daring to touch on subjects that the regime doesn’t want aired. Until that time, we can continue to enjoy what little semblance of free speech and honest journalism still survives in this country.
Remember all those that died on 9/11/01.
I’ve always been a huge Tucker Carlson fan and not surprised that he’s even a bigger success now that he’s not being restricted on what he can report on.
We the People are hungry for the Truth especially since the Mainstream Media has become the mouthpiece of the Communist wannabe Democratic Party!
Speak on loudly, clearly and freely!
This country needs as many Tucker Carlson’s as the number of illegals who have crossed the boarder under the current administration!!!
Since Tucker left Fox they have become part of the left MSM propagandas. No more breaking stories just repeating small stories that sound so nice and innocent.
Tucker is the only one who brings us the truth and dares to call the left on their lies and propaganda.
How long will that last? I hope he has bodyguards protecting him for I am sure there is a price on his head.
Fox News is now gone woke little by little. All talking heads have been put in prime time but told to tone it down.
Keep following Tucker for as long as it lasts. You know the dems have the FBI on their side and their justice system. They can eliminate anyone anytime.
While reading this article, it occurred to me that Tucker Carlson represents the opposite of “Political Correctness”. That’s why he is ostracized by the left and even the GOP “establishment” (the party heads). He is for FREE SPEECH and does not hesitate to tell/show the truth of any situation without regard to cost to him personally. He does it so the people will know.
So sad to see how successful the America hating progressive movement has had in subverting American values. So many embrace the destructive ideolog it’s absolutely mind boggling. I have the hardest time trying to “wrap my head” around how many Americans are willing to join forces with this corrupt, misguided and dangerous movement.
I’m not on X, or other social media, so I’m glad for articles like this to give me some idea what’s going on. I have Facebook, but seldom go there, too time consuming. I have a life!
2 bad he cant share feed with NewsMax, TBN, CBN etc
They say that when one door closes another one opens and it stands true for Tucker Carlson. While working for Fox, Carlson only had so much freedom to speak his mind. Now at X, the former Twitter, he has a platform that allows him to enjoy his freedom of speech. With the liberal media’s stranglehold on Network News these alternative venues are the only way Conservatives can get their message out to the public to give them the news that is never reported or covered.
I love Tucker I watch anything he does
I totally agree!!! Tucker Carson is great!!! NTD News is another conservative network that speaks the Truth!! Also, Mark Levin comes on Radio every night 8pm-11pm Monday-Friday on 1110am!!!! He’s fantastic & holds nothing back!!!! He got a new book coming out 9/19/23 called “The Democratic Party Hates America” You can order on Amazon for 40% off until 9/15/23. He said it’s his best work, yet & doesn’t care if he makes a dime off of it, as he worked on it for 14 months, explaining what the Democrates have done in the Past, are Doing NOW, & their Plans for the Future!!! He wrote this to help save our beloved America!!!! A MUST READ!!! ????????✝️????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Thanks for writing this article. I have noticed a shift in FoxNews reporting. Fortunately for me that has forced me to search other new sources that provide “Stright news Stories” or as Stright (non-partisan) as any news station can be, considering they need advertisers to stay on the air. it also allowed us more freedom to cut the cord as we find ourselves down to 15-20 minutes of Jesse Waters on FoxNews. We have found and excellent news streaming news station, NewsNation available on Sling or YouTubeTV streaming. NewsMax is still straight forward as well as OAN. I just hope that viewers search out Straight News (unbiased/factual) news stations as alternatives to FoxNews. It does take time to find them. Otherwise, the liberal media wins as Fox loses more and more viewers. X (formerly Twitter)(I really don’t care for the new name – X), but I do appreciate what Elon has done with Twitter – meaning no longer a misinformation controlled by the left. In closing I look forward to every episode Tucker Carson post on “X”.
I hope that Tucker Carlson recognizes that telling the Truth comes from God, Who is Truth Itself. The truth is easy to tell because in it there is no deceit. The Devil is the Master of Deceit, Lies and Fear-mongering. God has made it easy for us, just tell the Truth and there is nothing to fear so you don’t have deceive anyone. Remembering what you said when you speak the truth is easy. Remembering to keep your lies straight is much harder, just ask any politician or Deep State member, like Fauci, Biden or any member of his cabinet.
I have watched Tucker for years. I remember when he was started doing fill positions at Fox. He had been up late the night before on Hannity and had to come in early for Fox and Friends. He had fallen asleep during the commercial and the other guy on the couch was making fun of him while he slept. I laughed and thought Fox would probably let him go. To my surprise they gave him Bill O’Reilly’s slot when Bill was fired. Really surprised me but I was glad! Tucker is a very informative guy and interesting shows. I have been watching him on X and when I can. He is still informative and gives you reason to think many things through. I always do not agree with him but he gives food for thought. As Fox goes…still watch it but not like before. I often have more important things to do. To much of this can be hard on the nerves. Keeping a balance of being informed and being overwhelmed. The state of our country can do that to a person. It takes all of us to make change or fight back. This is not a job for one person. We as a nation need to take it back and put it in Gods hands.
Tucker Carlson was often quite good. But the one thing he did I never appreciated was that he would invite people on and they thought they were asked because they had information to give. But then he would sabotage them.
The most outrageous example of this was when he had on Ted Cruz, a marvelous, top drawer conservative and very important Senator for our side. Senator Cruz had made a remark based on limited information and he realized it and corrected himself at once. Carlson invited him on and I am sure Cruz expected to be able to explain himself to help the audience hear his side of what happened instead of what the news reported. Tucker made Cruz feel small and cornered him and I was furious. It is a trait of Tucker Carlson that is not delightful.
If you are going to invite someone and let him know this will be a no holds barred interview, fine. But you do not invite a good conservative and undermine him without any warning.
Tucker Carlson is great always watched him on Fox but Fox will get what the deserve in the end less people tuning in to there non caring station catering to the Dem party will never watch Fox again they are not worth the time.
I am a long time subscriber .to Amac and a Fox watcher and a New York post subscriber and a Newsmax watcher. Newsmax and Amac like to knock Fox. I like them all. how can you say Fox is like CNN & msnbc.? We have to stick together or we will have a Mrsdent. i Harris as our president Tucker Carlson is great but you don’t have to knock the many good people at Fox. You are hurting the Conservative cause. I am a 84 year old life long Republican and I hope we can win what we both want. Thank You.
I am hoping Tucker will continue his reporting on the Jan 6th peaceful demonstration and the unjust jailing of citizens who did nothing wrong.It was clearly a set up by Liberals and RINO Republicans. The truth needs to come out. People need to be released from prison. The Biden regime needs to be disposed and RINOs punished.
It is so interesting that Dominion was convinced that if FOX sacrificed Tucker Carlson, it was valuable to their company. In daring to challenge the right of free speech, both companies drew attention to an issue they would have been ahead to ignore.
Many Americans know freedom starts with the ability to say what you believe to be true.
It was time for Tucker to move on from FOX! It is necessary to move on when things aren’t aligning to your beliefs. The pressures we may feel are windows of opportunities and only affect us negatively when we don’t believe in what we are or are doing. Good Luck Tucker for the truth evades this country. May more come into the light of their gifts and shine a message that the truth will always set you free!
Go tucker go
I miss Tucker’s monologue that he always opened his show with when he was on Fox. I hope he returns to doing that because it was always so informative.
Fox won’t release him from the contract. They’d rather pay him millions while he is “on leave”. Tucker would give them competition.
Ronald your just a sheep run back to the pack Biden will tuck you in
On X a view is measured by if someone watches for only 2 seconds. That is so skewed. The true test on whether people actually watch the whole Tucker on X is the engagement which is unbelievably low. I love Tucker but his Trump interview was soft. Who really cares what Obama did and with whom last century? Not me. Who cares about the Tate bros? Not me.I’m waiting for the hard hitting Tucker from Fox to show up who asks the tough questions and interviews relevant people.
Do you wish to say why you believe what you were able to freely just write?
I would truly like to know what your facts are for that determination.
We miss you Tucker. Hope you start your own station
I would like to see him on Frankspeech
Carlson is too biased to recognize misinformation when he says it.
I barely have time enough to sit and listen to Dana Loesch and Megyn Kelly podcasts so I’m not an all day viewer. Fox kind of screwed up my regular viewing by shuffling their prime time up. Still watch Gutfeld but my Ingraham Angle dropped off because it’s on a different time. I’m betting any “poll numbers” drop is a cause & effect from that although I’m sure Carlson loyalists are still on the boycott wagon. Tucker seems to be over it; time for them too!
I would not believe anything that Tucker Carlson promotes ever since he took the Jan 6 tapes from McCarthy & then condensed into a couple of minutes that made Jan 8 assault on our Capitol as peaceful. I am disgusted that he thinks Americans are that stupid & the other side to this story; why did McCarthy give the +40,000 tapes to Carlson & no other news media.