Former Fox News host and MAGA-sphere podcaster Tucker Carlson’s disillusionment with Donald Trump appears to have expanded into broader frustration with Republicans, and he now says he no longer supports the party.
Carlson is now a giant in the world of podcasting. However, for years, his prime-time Fox News opinion show, Tucker Carlson tonightwas among the biggest audience drivers for Fox News, until 2023, when he was fired from the network following the fallout from a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems, which revealed private messages from several Fox personalities. His show regularly provided some of the strongest ratings in cable news. During his time at Fox News, Carlson was one of Trump’s most vocal media allies and a staunch supporter of the Republican Party — a position that has until recently remained steadfast as he has developed an independent company around his podcast.
“I will not support the Democratic Party,” Carlson said during an appearance on this week’s podcast episode. It cannot be censoredhosted by Travis Dhanraj and Carman Wong. “I don’t know what I’ll do.”
Carlson has increasingly positioned himself as an independent thinker and drew attention earlier this year when he broke with Trump over U.S. involvement in the conflict with Iran during a long-running episode of his podcast. The critic accused the president of being influenced by Israeli leaders in the decision-making process related to the military campaign.
“They make decisions based on other criteria — what is best for this company, what is best for Israel, what is best for our donors,” Carlson said. It cannot be censored While criticizing the leaders of the Republican Party. “This does not mean just going in the wrong direction. This is unacceptable. This is treason. It is immoral. It cannot continue.”
Carlson continues to exert significant influence within the MAGA movement. On average, about 1.9 million listeners download or stream new episodes of his podcast, and Carlson’s YouTube channel has nearly 5.7 million subscribers. The show regularly falls into the top 10 podcasts on YouTube’s weekly charts.
His podcast was launched in 2024 and quickly gained a large audience. It became the #1 podcast on Spotify in July 2024.
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