American media personality and political commentator. His career has bounced between disaster and triumph, and his radicalisation mirrors the recent trajectory of American conservatism.
Carlson began as a writer at the Weekly Standard in the late 1990s, where he argued that without the press America "would devolve into a totalitarian police state within about 20 minutes". He moved to cable television but flopped on both CNN and MSNBC. He was also a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars" and unsuccessfully pursued hosting a game show. In 2016 he landed a prime-time slot on Fox News, where he became a hit. He was sacked by Fox in 2023 but rose again, interviewing world leaders on his own streaming network and broadcasting on X.
Carlson reportedly aimed for the Ivy League but attended Trinity College, Connecticut.
In 2010 Carlson co-founded the Daily Caller, an online publication meant to bring civility to political discourse. Instead it was drawn into a grim contest for clicks with Breitbart News.
Once a genial fan of John McCain and Israel, Carlson rode the American right's escalator to dark conspiracism. He now opposes foreign interventions and has been accused of indulging antisemitism. He interviewed Vladimir Putin in 2024 and paid a compliment to Hungary's Viktor Orbán that became the title of his biography: "Hated by All the Right People", by Jason Zengerle of the New Yorker. His influence has been cited in the choice of J.D. Vance as vice-president.
After the American-Israeli attack on Iran in February 2026, Carlson branded the conflict "Israel's war" and called it "absolutely disgusting and evil", predicting it would scramble the MAGA movement in a "profound way". He railed on his podcast that "the United States didn't make the decision here. Binyamin Netanyahu did." His criticism reflects the isolationist wing of MAGA that is suspicious of Israel's influence over Donald Trump's foreign policy.
In an interview with The Economist at his winter home on Florida's Gulf Coast, Carlson called the war "not only contrary to America First" but "its inverse", arguing that Trump's "biggest donors pushed for this war, and they would include, literally, an Israeli citizen"—comments that led some to label him an antisemite, a charge he denies.
Carlson believes American policymakers "need to understand that we now share the world with China" and should accept a "power-sharing agreement" based on geography. He has said America "is not going to defend and cannot defend Taiwan" because "we've reached the limits of our power." He argues that "Europe needs to be an ally" and "has to be at the centre of the West, as Europe is the West", though he called the heads of France, Germany and Britain "buffoons". Asked whether America First means doubling down on Europe as an ally, he was clear: "Of course...not just out of sentimental love of Europe," but to counterbalance China.
Carlson laughed off the idea of running for president in 2028 ("Of course not"), but said he feared that having been "so slandered as a bigot" any endorsement from him risks doing more harm than good to candidates. Asked whether he is trying to shape the direction of the United States, he replied: "As hard as I can. I live here."
Stupidity got us into this mess -- why can't it get us out?