Tucker Carlson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tucker Carlson
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Carlson in 2023
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| Born |
Tucker McNear Carlson
May 16, 1969 San Francisco, California, U.S.
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| Education | Trinity College, Hartford (BA) |
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| Television |
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| Political party | Republican (since 2020) |
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| Spouse(s) |
Susan Andrews
(m. 1991) |
| Children | 4 |
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Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson (born May 16, 1969) is an American political commentator and writer. He hosted the nightly political talk show Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News from 2016 to 2023. Since his contract with Fox News was terminated, he has hosted Tucker on X.
Early life and education
Carlson was born Tucker McNear Carlson in San Francisco, California, on May 16, 1969. He is the elder son of Lisa McNear (née Lombardi; 1945–2011), an artist from San Francisco, and Dick Carlson (1941–), a former "gonzo reporter" who became the director of Voice of America, president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the U.S. ambassador to the Seychelles. Carlson's brother, Buckley Peck Carlson, later Buckley Swanson Peck Carlson, is nearly two years younger and has worked as a communications manager and a Republican Party political operative.
In 1976, Carlson's parents divorced after the nine-year marriage reportedly "turned sour". Carlson's father was granted custody of Tucker and his brother. Carlson's mother left the family when he was six and moved to France. The boys never saw her again.
When Carlson was in first grade, his father moved Tucker and his brother to the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, and raised them there. Carlson attended La Jolla Country Day School and grew up in a home overlooking the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club. His father owned property in Nevada, Vermont, and islands in Maine and Nova Scotia.
In 1979, Carlson's father married Patricia Caroline Swanson, an heiress to Swanson Enterprises, daughter of Gilbert Carl Swanson and niece of Senator J. William Fulbright. Though Patricia remained a beneficiary of the family fortune, the Swansons had sold the brand to the Campbell Soup Company in 1955 and did not own it by the time of Carlson's father's marriage. This was the third marriage for Swanson, who legally adopted Tucker Carlson and his brother.
Carlson was briefly enrolled at Collège du Léman, a boarding school in the canton of Geneva in French-speaking Switzerland, but said he was "kicked out". He attained his secondary education at St. George's School, a boarding school in Middletown, Rhode Island, where he started dating his future wife, Susan Andrews, the headmaster's daughter. He then spent four years attending Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut and graduated in 1991 with a B.A. in history. After college, Carlson tried to join the Central Intelligence Agency, but his application was denied, after which he decided to pursue a career in journalism with the encouragement of his father.
Career
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Carlson began his media career in the 1990s, writing for The Weekly Standard and other publications. He was a CNN commentator from 2000 to 2005 and a co-host of Crossfire, the network's prime-time news debate program, from 2001 to 2005. From 2005 to 2008, he hosted the nightly program Tucker on MSNBC. In 2009, he became a political analyst for Fox News, appearing on various programs before launching his own show. In 2010, Carlson co-founded and served as the initial editor-in-chief of the right-wing news and opinion website The Daily Caller, until selling his ownership stake and leaving in 2020.
On November 14, 2016, Carlson began hosting Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News. The premiere episode of the show, which replaced On the Record, was the network's most watched telecast of the year in the time slot, with 3.7 million viewers.
Tucker Carlson Tonight aired at 7:00 p.m. each weeknight until January 9, 2017, when Carlson's show replaced Megyn Kelly at the 9:00 p.m. time slot after she left Fox News. In January 2017, Forbes reported that the show had "scored consistently high ratings, averaging 2.8 million viewers per night and ranking as the number two cable news program behind The O'Reilly Factor in December". In March 2017, Tucker Carlson Tonight was the most watched cable program in the 9:00 p.m. time slot.
By October 2020, Tucker Carlson Tonight averaged 5.3 million viewers, with the show's monthly average becoming the highest of any cable news program in history at that point.
In February 2021, Carlson announced a multiyear deal with Fox News to host a new weekly podcast and series of monthly specials dubbed Tucker Carlson Originals on sister streaming service Fox Nation, which released on March 29. In spring of 2021, he began hosting a show on Fox Nation called Tucker Carlson Today.
On the morning of Monday, April 24, 2023, Fox News dismissed Carlson and the executive producer of his evening show. Fox did not provide a reason for Carlson's termination. In a video on his Twitter feed on May 9, 2023, Carlson said he would relaunch his show on Twitter. The first episode of the show, called Tucker on Twitter, was released on June 6, 2023 and lasted just over 10 minutes.
Carlson launched the streaming service Tucker Carlson Network in December, with both ad-supported and subscription-based content. Initially planned for Twitter/X, Musk's company was unable to deliver the needed technology. Justin Wells, a former executive producer at Fox for Carlson, will oversee programming.
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Writing
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Carlson has written three books: Politicians, Partisans, and Parasites (2003), Ship of Fools (2018), and The Long Slide (2021).
In 2023, a biography of Carlson titled Tucker was released. The book was written by Chadwick Moore with the help of Carlson, who had given the author more than 100 hours of interviews. Moore had stated that the book was intended to tell the story of Carlson's exit from Fox News from the former host's perspective. The book performed poorly, with just over 3,000 copies sold during the first week after its release.
Political views
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Carlson is a critic of immigration. Formerly an economic libertarian, he now supports protectionism. In 2004, he renounced his initial support for the Iraq War, and has since been skeptical of U.S. foreign interventions. He was said to have influenced some of Trump's decisions as president, including the cancellation of a military strike against Iran in 2019. Carlson has often defended Russian President Vladimir Putin. In February 2024, he became the first Western journalist to interview Putin since February 2022. He faced harsh criticism for holding the interview.
Personal life
Carlson is married to Susan Thomson Carlson (née Andrews). They met at St. George's School, where she was the daughter of the school's headmaster and priest. They were married on August 10, 1991, in the school chapel. They have four children. Carlson is left-handed and dyslexic.
Published works
- Carlson, Tucker (2003). Politicians, Partisans, and Parasites: My Adventures in Cable News. New York: Warner Books. ISBN: 978-0759508002.
- Carlson, Tucker (2018). Ship of Fools: How a Selfish Ruling Class Is Bringing America to the Brink of Revolution. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 978-1501183669.
- Carlson, Tucker (2021). The Long Slide: Thirty Years in American Journalism. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 978-1501183690.
See also
In Spanish: Tucker Carlson para niños
