Of course Tucker Carlson wants to reboot his TV show on Twitter, where fellow conspiracy-promoting bullshit artist Elon Musk has welcomed him with open arms (and probably a free blue check mark). Musk even said Carlson will have more viewers on the bird site than he did on Faux News Channel.
That’s highly unlikely, as Slate’s Justin Peters writes:
If Musk has ambitions of building Twitter into a multimedia platform that does host original content, good luck convincing Carlson’s Fox News audience to follow him there. Fox News primarily appeals to the sort of old, angry people who have to ask their adult children to show them how to use the remote control. While some of these people will surely figure out how to follow Carlson over to Twitter, my guess is that the host will now primarily be performing for the cavilling nerds of Twitter Blue. Carlson will make the best of it, I’m sure, but make no mistake: This move is a downgrade for the host, no matter how grateful he is that anyone is tuning in.
Carlson has been playing the victim card and making statements about how he will not be silenced ever since the Murdochs pulled his primetime rug out from under him. Meanwhile, his former employer still has to pay him under his reported $25 million/year contract.
Nobody making that kind of money should ever be described as a victim. That term better applies to the many marginalized groups and individuals whose lives Carlson spent the last 6+ years demeaning and attacking on live television.
Although I was never at that income level, I had a couple of experiences in my radio career with employers who no longer wanted my voice on the air but still had to write me checks every week. It’s not the worst way to make a living.
But Carlson’s ego can’t stand having no cameras and microphones to spew his garbage into. Thus the hurry to restart his show. That is, unless FNC’s attorneys believe the non-compete clauses in his contract aren’t limited to cable and broadcast television, but rather prohibit Carlson from producing content for any other platform.
The irony is that, on Twitter, he’ll have to absorb all the costs of production and staffing, including someone to sell commercials at whatever bargain-basement rates he can. Considering that his TV show lost many advertisers over the last few years, he’ll make a good fit for Twitter, which has similarly shed sponsors galore since Musk bought it.
None of what I’ve said here will stop Carlson, Musk, and their supporters from claiming a victory for free speech and touting the success of the new venture — while offering zero evidence. Because that’s another part of the playbook they have in common.
I’ll let Peters have the final word for today:
Tucker Carlson saying he’s “grateful” to bring his show to Twitter — a website that does not have shows — is sort of like claiming that you’re glad to be exiled to Siberia because you’ve always wanted to learn how to ski.