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Whatever happened to Tucker Carlson?: Part II — 39 Comments

1. A Demon possession at least might explain his move away from reality. Sure does seem he hasn’t been saved or move towards God.

2. Neo has tried him and found Carlson guilty. So let us just ignore his existence, since there are not enough of us to shut him up.

3. There was no persecution of Christians as a whole in Ukraine; almost all Ukrainians are Christians:
   ________
   Be careful about that claim. Persecution of one group of Christians by another is hardly unheard of. E.g., Catholics by England, or Protestants by France. The Ukraine situation is probably one more case.

   Frankly, claims about Israeli attacks on Christians are just not something we can decide on yet. ALL testimony is biased. What we DO know is that there is clear evidence of Islamist atrocities. Alleged Israeli ones are not clear. For now, that’s enough.

4. If he’s reading the Bible only to get confirmation of his crackpot theories, the demon is helping him to do this.

   I am always astonished at people who can’t see that the greatest threat to both Jews and Christians, and to non-religious western people, is Islam.

5. Conservatives pounce: https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/utter-stupidity-conservatives-appalled-by-tucker-carlsons-latest-target/

6. As to Ukraine, Protestant Christians are definitely being oppressed in the Russian-controlled areas, as are the non-Russian Orthodox.

7. Sdferr, seriously, he attacked Bonhoeffer?? This man is sick. If it weren’t for the fact that lots of people watch this, and others like Candace Owens, we could just laugh him off.

8. Kate said:

   “If he’s reading the Bible only to get confirmation of his crackpot theories, the demon is helping him to do this.

   I am always astonished at people who can’t see that the greatest threat to both Jews and Christians, and to non-religious western people, is Islam.”

   Kate nailed it:

   In this time in 2025 fence straddling is not an option. Dec 6, 1941 you could say, “I don’t like the Japanese or the Australians.” On December 7, 1941 you had a choice to make – at that point it was one or the other.

   Similarly, you can take the side of Israel or Iran/Qatar/The Muslim Brotherhood. You can be for The Abraham Accords or like those 3 Muslim entities – 100% against it.

   You can be for a Jihadist Communist mayor of NYC or against him.

   You can try to straddle the fence but as the saying goes, “You may not like the war, but it likes you.” Ask the 10,000 girls in the UK who were raped on an industrial scale about Islam. Israel and the Jews didn’t do this – perverted, sick conquering Muslims did and they liked it. The Left in the UK covered it all up.

   Pick a side. Pick well.

9. Eeyore; Kate:

   To clarify, I meant that Zelensky was not persecuting Christians, which had been Tucker’s accusation. Whether some Christians are persecuting each other was not what he was alleging.

10. Not sure I understand the plot here:

    TC believes that Hitler-worship (along with Stalin-worship) is a convincing argument?

    In America?

    Guess he’s either a mega-loon…or a mega-intuitive genius.
    (Of course Schicklgruber was also believed by myriads to be a mega-intuitive genius…until he wasn’t…)

    Be interesting to see how TC’s gonna try to walk this Bonhoeffer thang back (if he in fact will):
    – “Da Jews made me say it”?
    – “That greasy, little, slime-ball Ben Shapiro made me do it”?
    – “But, but, but Bonhoeffer wanted to save Jews”?
    – “Hey, if I can’t say things that are against the grain, doesn’t that mean that YOU are denying me freedom of speech** and that therefore YOU ARE UNAMERICAN, you Jew…(or even worse, Jew-symp)!?”?
    – All of the above?
    – None of the above?

    Should be a rather interesting next 24-48 hours…keeping in mind that this latest incarnation of TC is meant to destroy Trump along with Trump’s efforts to save the country.
    (Gosh, who else is, um, dreaming of doing just that??)

    ** I have a hunch that it’s this perverse but apparently effective manipulation of the “free speech” issue that’s hamstrung JD Vance and others…

11. I am always astonished at people who can’t refuse to see that the greatest threat to both Jews and Christians, and to non-religious western people, is Islam.

    Fixed.

12. So according to neo it’s ok now to ban a religious sect if many of their members support who your country is fighting against? I don’t disagree what she said about Carlson, but I saw a glint of extremism in that assertion

13. Just a sect there Skipfarge, we all have to ban together.

14. “…along with Stalin-worship…”

    So who else is “doing USSR nostalgia”?

    https://instapundit.com/756447/

15. Skiplarge:

    The point is that Carlson lies about what Zelensky did and why. Zelensky did NOT ban that branch of Christianity – although the majority of Ukrainians would have liked him to. He banned some clerics of that branch who were acting as agents of Russia in times of a hot war with Russia.

16. I think the problem is that Tucker Carlson, like Candace Owens, is actually not smart enough to be doing the job he’s doing. I think he is a man of average to maybe slightly above-average intellect trying to do work that should be left to a brilliant man, and he’s in over his head. At least from what I’ve observed, he doesn’t seem to be good at pushing back or presenting meaningful counter-arguments against the people he’s interviewing, who are often much smarter than him. I’m really not sure that his intentions are evil at this point; I truly think he is in over his head.

17. Shadow:

    I’m not claiming Carlson is a genius, but he’s not only smart enough to give intelligent pushback, but he’s given it to many people on many occasions. He picks and chooses his targets for that; Israel supporter Ted Cruz was a recent one. On the other hand, his “aw shucks; I’m just asking questions” pose is a tactic by which he presents the pernicious views of some others and yet maintains a sort of plausible deniability.

18. In my mind the most damning image is the one of Carlson’s arm wrapped around Nick Fuentes in a best buddies pose.

    Fuentes has 500,000 followers on Rumble. He claims 1,000,000 followers on X. Those are relatively small numbers. Those may be his ceiling, since he’s been at it for nearly 10 years. He claims his issues are Immigration, Race and Israel.

    Fuentes may not be a Nazi, and Dinesh D’Souza has said he doesn’t think he is one– but he’s toxic to the conservative movement. Fuentes is planting his flag on the 2028 election. He’s waiting in the wings to take the Isolationist mantle should Carlson fade.

    Carlson is professing a simplistic view of the world. One might call it Pacifism.

    Here’s Carlson talking about Mark Levin, who was outraged at the barbarity of the Hamas/Palestinian attacks on Oct. 7:

    …The fear is not that Mark Levin will take over American politics. The fear is that we become Mark Levin by staring at Mark Levin too much. We become him. Another way of putting it is the fight is not against Mark Levin and the many Mark Levin’s out there, the screamers, the slanderers, the imputers of character, the liars. The real fight is within ourselves. The real fight is against our own nature, our own natural inclination to in the face of Mark Levin become Mark Levin. And the cost is to us. You hurt yourself. Don’t become evil because what’s the point? What is the point? And the only way to present prevent yourself from becoming that person is by admitting that you’ve acted like that person and apologizing for it sincerely, not in a fake way….So really, just to keep in mind as things heat up, don’t become the people you despise, or else what’s the point? We wind up I mean, the Second World War is that story. We’re fighting for freedom, but we’re arming Joseph Stalin to do it. Really? We sent more money and airplanes and tanks and jeeps and boots and food to Joseph Stalin, the greatest mass murderer in history, in order to bring what? Freedom to the world. It’s not a defense of Hitler, of course. But that’s shameful. The Roosevelt administration did that with a full support of his party. It’s like, don’t become the thing that you hate. That’s it. And if you don’t do that, if you allow yourself to get carried away so mad that you start mimicking the hate that’s coming at you, what happens? Well, of course it flowers into violence…..But we are absolutely moving toward violence. And it should be really clear. That’s the other thing is you don’t want to espouse violence because where does it go? It always begets more violence 100% of the time. September 11th led to millions of deaths in the Middle East. Yeah. October 7th led to Gaza. Like this all once the violence begins, you can’t predict its course, but you can be fairly certain it will accelerate….

    In his moral superiority Carlson would force Western societies to capitulate to the Islamist barbarians. Carlson says that’s Israeli policy to target civilians, without evidence.

    The terrorists hide behind civilians– even their own families. That’s been true for decades as Israel has been attacked relentlessly. Former Prime Minister Golda Meir one said, “We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children. We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us.”

19. Brian E:

    Carlson apparently doesn’t believe that countries that are foully attacked should be allowed to defend themselves. At least – if that country is Israel, or Ukraine.

    Carlson excoriates Levin as evil and yet Carlson sits there with Candance Owens (Part III, not yet done) as she spouts her own evil accusations and he is attentive and accepting. Funny thing, that double standard.

    And he’s either ignorant or disingenuous about Russia and WWII. It is almost certain that without Russia’s help, Hitler would not have been defeated. Carlson wasn’t around back then, but he apparently thinks he’s smarter than the Allied generals who were. If Hitler had conquered the Western world and stayed in power I can practically guarantee he would have surpassed Stalin’s crimes in numbers. In fact, some historians say that in fact the number of unarmed people Hitler killed actually DID exceed the number of unarmed people Stalin killed.

20. Kate @4:39pm,

    “The devil can cite scripture to suit his purpose.”

21. When I first noticed him (maybe the CNN “Crossfire” days?) I formed the opinion Shadow expresses; “This fellow in the bowtie is not a rocket surgeon.” He also gave off a preppy, boarding school vibe that turned me off.

    I heard rumors his father was in the CIA, and that maybe he was/is too. I tend not to invest too much into what he says.

    I think he did fairly good work regarding the COVID pandemic on his old Fox show, but that is one of few issues he has been consistent or logical on. I don’t pay too much attention to him, but most of what I hear and see attributed to him lately is bizarre and, perhaps, malicious.

22. Rufus T. Firefly:

    I didn’t used to pay much attention to him either. Lately I have, and the reason is this: I think he is doing a great deal of damage. A growing number of people believe his pernicious lies about Jews, Zionists, Israel, Christian Zionists, Russia/Ukraine, and history. He is part of a group of “influencers” some of whom are even worse than he – Candace Owens, Nick Fuentes, and others – some of whom are very popular (Owens is the most downloaded podcaster in the world at present), have a big reach, are spreading Jew-hatred and Israel-hatred and – if that’s not enough – they are determined to split the right. They are parallel to the “progressive” Democratic Socialists and hyper-woke people on the left, who took over the Democratic Party. That is their template, and they would like to do it to the right.

23. He was “clawed by a demon”. He and his wife have a Springer Spaniel and a Maine Coon cat.
    I think that animals on the bed is a much more likely source of his wounds, but he has evidently convinced himself otherwise.
    We had a dog who wasn’t allowed on our bed, but he would sneak into the bedroom and climb up there until we caught him. Once, I was sleeping in while my wife was up, and he snuck in and got on the bed with me. He decided to stretch with all four paws against my back. I woke up and chased him off. If I hadn’t had blankets between my back and his claws, I’m sure I would been scratched.

24. “Sleeping on the paw-side of the dawg”
    That has got to be a country song.

25. neo,

    I agree he is doing damage. I don’t have a good guess at his motive. “Fool or knave?” as you often write.

    Whether he is a well intentioned fool or a devious operator; one thing seems certain. He appears determined to force prominent people to take a public stand on him and his opinions. As Tucker Carlson does more and more outlandish, indefensible things his friends will find it more and more difficult to not speak out against his statements.

    J.D. Vance is supposedly a friend. One of Tucker Carlson’s children works for Vance. Vance is highly intelligent, but it will be harder and harder to maneuver around reporters’ questions about his “friend,” especially if Vance seeks elected office again.

    Megyn Kelly has been forthright about her friendship with Carlson and how they helped each other in their careers. She recently featured him on her speaking tour. She has also grown her SiriusXM show to new heights and has launched her own network with a slate of podcasters.

    Carlson’s behavior has helped him grow his audience and, one presumes, his bank account, but it also makes it harder and harder for his associates in the public eye to remain silent about his more ludicrous statements and actions.

    Whatever his motives, Tucker Carlson’s behavior since leaving Fox is making more and more prominent Republicans and Conservatives take vocal stands for or against some very contentious issues. As Napoleon might have said, “Never interfere with the enemy when he is in the process of destroying himself.”

    Carlson’s recent actions have the Left’s enemies destroying themselves.
    I doubt Carlson is too naive or unintelligent to know this.

26. Steve Sailer has moved over to Substack and his more obnoxious acolytes appear to have lapsed into silence. If you followed his column at Unz and the subsequent commentary, you’d have noticed that the vast majority of those with an opinion favored Russia over the Ukraine. (Sailer himself was noncommittal). They twisted their heads into knots to make excuses for Russia, blame Victoria Nuland for everything &c. Eight years earlier, you had people taking the same line after Russia seized the Crimea and part of the Donbass. One of the curios about the palaeo dispensation is that you can have in the same forum Joseph Sobran’s uber isolationism (he said it was our fault there was a terrorist attack on a Navy ship in the Indian Ocean because we should not have had a ship in the Indian Ocean) juxtaposed to a manifest emotional investment in particular conflicts abroad (see Thos Fleming turning Chronicles into a press agent for violent Serb particularists). If you did an audit of these fora, I think you’d have to scrounge to find even one example of these two types arguing with each other. They save their fire for the conventional right (denounced as ‘neocons’). So, what is the common element in their thinking?

27. Art Deco:

    I think the common element is lack of common sense. They live in a world of fantasy, rather like ostriches sticking their heads in the sand and thinking all will be well.

    In addition, I think most of them think they’re smarter and just all around better than and superior to the actual people who have to make military decisions in the real world.

28. Carlson is a midwit who found a niche in the world of internet punditry. He is inconsistent in his ramblings, but of course, that is the nature of ramblings, isn’t it? His audience can pick and choose which, among his often contradictory pronunciamenti they find most appealing to their own inclinations. Likewise, those who find themselves opposed to him can find reasons to support their position among the same mental vomitus that he has posted or broadcast. The problem with speaking ex temporaneously as he does, working without a prepared script, is that sometimes–often in some cases–one says things that one either does not believe or which, upon further review, contradict what one has previously espoused. This creates a tension in the speaker that often results in a defensive reaction to criticism, based on the feeling that one has been personally disrespected. People frequently say things in anger when they feel attacked, wronged or slandered. Problem is that later, one can feel compelled to fortify those statements, “doubling down,” as the saying goes. Another problem is that Carlson must say something–anything–or he will lose his audience. When one makes one’s living by speaking, silence is not conducive to financial success. So, it seems to be a combination of these factors, viz., underwhelming intellect which allows him to spout things that are factually or historically unsupported, defensive reactions to criticism, a need to keep talking when silence would be a better alternative and the need to also “epater les bourgeoisie” in a sense, thereby building a reputation as a “bad boy.” I think that is the reason behind his espousal of crackpot theories, like the kid in class who seeks attention from the teacher by misbehaving or the rebellious teen who disrupts familial comity. As far as his purported “Christianity,” although he occasionally stumbles into an area of Biblical orthodoxy, I believe his opinions are most often based on his Episcopalian upbringing or his recent purported “interest” in Roman Catholicism rather than sound Biblical exegesis. One can find support for nearly any opinion somewhere among the thousands of verses contained in the Bible if one simply performs a word search. Actual Bible study requires serious thought and effort, something which I believe Carlson neither has put into it nor actually desires to do so. So on behalf of Christians everywhere I apologize on Carlson’s behalf. And I shall now return to my former habit of ignoring him.

29. I think the problem is that Tucker Carlson, like Candace Owens, is actually not smart enough to be doing the job he’s doing…

    Well, OK…but:
    1, Define “smart” and/or
    2. Maybe one doesn’t have to be all that “smart” to do “the job he’s doing”. That is, maybe all one had to know is—instinctively?—how to press the right manipulative “emotional buttons” and keep at it UNCEASINGLY from various angles…

    IOW, it DOESN’T have to make any LOGICAL sense; rather, all it has to do is make the right EMOTIONAL sense while letting the non-stop bombardment of “the message”, such as it is, do the rest. Intelligent people seem to make a habit of dismissing people such as those under discussion for this very reason (REASON—there we go again!)…a mistake made with dire consequences WRT TC’s latest apparent heartthrob. This mistake was most definitely NOT made by Churchill, which is why this stalwart hero MUST BE DENIGRATED, DESTROYED, IDEOLOGICALLY RIPPED TO SHREDS…keeping in mind the president who first removed the hero’s bust from view in the White House.

    The only question really is what to do about this REAL threat in the current era of non-stop, technology-driven onslaught on individual personality: on personal mettle, responsibility, decision making, free will and moral judgment.

30. I am less concerned with the origins of the crackpot-du-jour. They are perennial, and eternal.

    Today’s crackpots benefit from the confluence of 2 factors:

    1. A generation raised to self-loathing and ignorance, who (to their credit) are pushing angrily – albeit blindly – against their Marxist ideological captors.

    2. The inevitable waning of the Holocaust as a fresh memory whose horror forces these people back under their rocks.

    The real cause of this situation is the complete failure to prepare the next generation to think critically, and to transmit Western history and values. The adults of the Western world let this identity void be created – even embraced some of the chic Postmodern tropes ourselves. Can’t blame the kids. Can’t blame them either when they fill the void with typically youthful, indiscriminate passion.

31. I am really astonished at the attention Carlson, and to a much lesser extent Candace Owens , are receiving.

    Viewers / listeners / readers have choices; ignore those individuals who spout garbage, and pay attention to those you respect.
    However unfortunate it is, there are millions of people who just refuse to think and just believe stuff they hear or believe stuff that is simply a fantasy.

    There is nothing that can be done about this and the end result is people like Newsom, Mamdani, Brandon Johnson and Katie Wilson (the latter two are mayors of Chicago and Seattle, respectively). , et. al., keep getting elected to office over and over and over and ………..

    The morons on The View or left wing dreck like Jimmy Kimmel and his ilk, or pretty much everybody in the MSM, or the two faced , dishonest demonkrat politicians, IMHO, do far more harm to our nation than do crack pot folks like Clarkson / Owens, though no doubt that the crap uttered by Clarkson / Owens just adds to the instability and divisiveness here in the USA.

32. Hold on!
    TC apologizes!!

    (Heartfelt, no less!…)
    …As we are given a rare glimpse of TC-style contrition, crawling (figuratively) up the stairs on knobby knees (in best Henry IV imitation, though with cackle inaudible), to beg forgiveness from, um, Pope Gregory Liz Cheney.
    ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_to_Canossa )

    Just a sec.
    Liz Cheney??
    (Checks…)
    Yes, you heard right!

    “Tucker Carlson Issues Heartfelt Apology to Liz Cheney”—
    https://pjmedia.com/michaelcantrell/2025/11/13/tucker-carlson-issues-heartfelt-apology-to-liz-cheney-n4945970

    Meanwhile, we’re on tenterhooks.
    What—and to WHOM—will this softer, gentler shmuck apologize for next???
    – – – – – – – – – – –

    “…like Jimmy Kimmel…”

    As for this precious gem…turns out—who woulda’ thunk it?—he’s not the only comedian in the family….

    “Jimmy Kimmel’s wife is ‘angry all the time’ after losing relationships with Trump-voting family members;
    “Molly McNearney says relatives’ support for president feels like betrayal of her husband and family”—
    https://www.foxnews.com/media/jimmy-kimmels-wife-angry-all-time-after-losing-relationships-trump-voting-family-members

    Yep, comedy is HARD.
    One really has to work at it…

33. In the Part I comments, Sharon W asked me: “Brian E–I want to make sure you are not including the Catholic Church with regard to “replacement theology”.”

    The Catholic Church preaches “Fulfillment theology” which is a distinction without a real difference.

    Eschatological Role of Jews: Some theologians (e.g., Ratzinger) suggest a future “turning” of Jews to Christ (Romans 11:26), but this is spiritual, not tied to a physical state. The Church rejects forced conversion (Gifts and Calling, 2015).
    Zion’s Role: Your question on Zion (152 OT, 7 NT mentions) is key. Catholics see Zion as:Historically: Jerusalem or the land (e.g., Psalm 2:6).
    Spiritually: The Church or heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22).
    Eschatologically: The Kingdom of God (Revelation 14:1), not a restored Israel.

    Diversity Among Catholics: While official teaching is clear, some lay Catholics (e.g., in the U.S., ~70 million) may be influenced by Christian Zionist media, expecting a physical restoration. This is not doctrinal and is discouraged by the Vatican.

    – Grok

    Catholics view Zion as the Church or as a spiritual dimension where Jesus will reign. Evangelicals take the hundred plus references of Zion in the Bible literally.

    Catholics reject the physical re-establishment of the state of Israel as a fulfillment of prophecy for a few reasons:
    1. Only a minority of the world’s Jews have returned to Israel.
    2. The current state of Israel does not include all the land given to Abraham and his descendants.

    I would counter that the future hasn’t arrived yet. But mainline churches rejection of a literal interpretation of the Bible on this and other subjects in the Bible is symptomatic of the failings of humans– manifest in the original sin.

    Since at the core, this is a Spiritual battle, it’s becoming evident that forces aligned against Israel are gaining momentum. Much of the West is already lost, and even in the US, support is slowing slipping.

    At some point, expect many Christians to rationalize that since a physical restoration wasn’t really part of God’s plan, maintaining a physical state of Israel in the Middle East isn’t worth the cost.

34. I highly recommend renting/buying the film “The Dragon’s Prophecy”, based on a book by Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn and produced by Dinesh D’Souza.

    A portion of the film is spent on the Dragon prophecy in Revelations, but beginning with the events of Oct. 7, using video made by the terrorists themselves, the film discusses how this event is part of the spiritual struggle.

    It documents through archeology the ties of the Israelites to the land, and the formation of the modern state of Israel.

    For Christians familiar with Revelations, it isn’t new interpretation, but well made documentation visually reminding us of the place and purpose of Jews in the world.
    Cahn reminds us that the Jews aren’t superior to any other group– but given a purpose in God’s plan for his creation.

    The documentary has video taken by the terrorists, and while it is graphic, it avoids showing some of the worst barbarity– but it provides enough to be a sober reminder of the inhuman attacks that day.

    https://thedragonsprophecyfilm.com/

35. Dave Rubin interviews D’Souza about his film.

    Rubin: “It’s a wonderful, wonderful film…”

    All Signs Point to This Dark Prophecy Coming True | Dinesh D’Souza
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCIx4yLwSKE

36. Steve @ 8:03…well-put.

37. Steve @ 8:03am,

    I agree with Sharon. That’s very well stated and a good account of my impression of what’s going on with Mr. Carlson, except I have one, slight disagreement with your opinion.

    As Sam Clemens said, “If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.”

    Yes, when speaking extemporaneously for hours a day not every utterance a person makes will be Shakespeare or Oscar Wilde. However, if one has firm, well thought out opinions they won’t change. Or, when they do change one will be very aware of when and why they changed.

    For example, even though I don’t remember everything I said on November 14th, 2024, or 2023, I’m confident no one can find something I said that was antisemitic because I don’t ascribe to a philosophy of antisemitism. I agree with you that Carlson and Owens don’t seem likely to get a Noble Prize in Chemistry soon, but they are good communicators, and, as you state, they have a talent for knowing how to grow an audience. But even if he was a Noble awardee it’s not from a lack of intelligence, or mental power that Carlson’s detractors can so easily use his own words to refute his own words. It’s from a lack of core, philosophical consistency. In other words, it’s not that Carlson’s memory is weak that leads him to make so many historical and logical fallacies. Unlike someone like Dr. Jordan Peterson, Carlson either hasn’t thought long and hard about many of the things he talks about, or, more likely, he’s not talking from a place of fundamental belief and conviction.

    He’s just talking.

38. On December 7, 1941, Imperial Japan struck a match at Pearl Harbor. Within four years, the USA had firebombed Tokyo and dropped atomic bombs on two Japanese cities killing tens of thousands of civilians.

    On October 7, 2023, Hamas struck a match in Israel. What the ultimate outcome will be in Gaza is unknown, but it surely will be less than the damage and loss suffered by Japan.

    When wars start, no one should be surprised at the outcome. Gaza will suffer what Hamas brought to it.

39. What’s with the giggling? Too much estrogen?

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