A video message posted on Twitter by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson after his departure has netted some 19 million views and 60 million impressions, highlighting Carlson’s influence and popularity.
He posted the clip at 8 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, the same time as his former Fox News show, and did not address any speculation around his departure. He also did not explain why he left the company.
For comparison, “Fox News Tonight” with temporary host Brian Kilmeade drew about 1.7 million viewers on Tuesday night. And President Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign launch video posted to Twitter on Tuesday afternoon—or more than 24 hours before Carlson’s—had about 40 million views.
And Carlson himself had a nightly audience of about 3 million viewers in recent years, although at times, that figure was much higher.
Dressed in a suit and tie for his Twitter video, Carlson’s speech was similar to those he delivered on the network for the past six years after he took over the timeslot previously held by host Bill O’Reilly. Debates on big topics like war, civil liberties, emerging science, demographic change and corporate power are not permitted by corporate media or political parties, he said.
“Both political parties and their donors have reached consensus on what benefits them, and they actively collude to shut down any conversation about it,” Carlson said in the video message. “When honest people say what’s true, calmly and without embarrassment, they become powerful. At the same time, the liars who have been trying to silence them shrink. They become weaker. That’s the iron law of the universe.”
Carlson said that after leaving the news business, he noticed “how unbelievably stupid most of the debates you see on television are.” Continuing, he elaborated that such debates are: “Completely irrelevant. They mean nothing. In five years, we won’t even remember we heard them. Trust me, as somebody who participated.”
Reasoned debates on real issues such as war, civil liberties, corporate power, demographic change, and other hot-button issues are often stamped out, he said.
“Where can you still find Americans saying true things?” he said. “There aren’t many places left, but there are some, and that’s enough. As long as you can hear the words, there is hope. See you soon.”
Without elaborating on his future plans, Carlson signed off on the video with, “See you soon.”
