Tucker Carlson Biography

Television personality Tucker Carlson is a politically conservative host who hosted the Fox News program Tucker Carlson Tonight beginning in 2016. He was one of the network’s top stars and the host of one of cable television’s most-watched shows when he was suddenly fired on an April weekend in 2023.

Fox News offered no explanation, and Carlson himself has only speculated.

Carlson broke into national television in 2000, when he became CNN’s youngest anchor. Sporting a bow tie and spouting “true conservative” talking points, Carlson was known for his role on Crossfire up until 2005, when his contract was not renewed.

He became a familiar face on political talk shows, from three seasons on MSNBC to being a regular panel member on Fox & Friends. Carlson also co-founded the website The Daily Caller in 2010.

In 2016 he began a nightly segment on Fox News, Tucker Carlson Tonight. Carlson’s viewing audience grew significantly after Fox News ousted host Bill O’Reilly in 2017, and by 2021 Carlson was one of the most watched cable TV hosts in the U.S.

Because Carlson’s show was “entertainment” and not news and opinion, he held viewers with ever-increasing mock outrage and blatant lies. After getting fired by Fox News (with a contract that kept him from moving to another network), Carlson took his act to the Internet, first with a Twitter account. (Twitter is now called X by some.)