The world of journalism was upended by news of Tucker Carlson's departure from Fox News announced in a press release the morning of April 24th.
Liberals cheered, RINOs scratched their heads and Twitter was abuzz with gossip.
Tucker has been a mainstay at Fox for almost fifteen years, starting as a guest host in 2009. But Tucker's star really began to shine when he was handed his own show, Tucker Carlson Tonight, in 2016. Since then, Tucker has carved out a niche for himself as a thoughtful firebrand with a joker-esque laugh and the ability to skewer political buffoonery on both sides of the aisle. This has made Tucker unique among TV pundits in that it seems like Tucker can’t be bought. He says what he wants to say and if you don’t like it you can pound sand.
But that perch at Fox is now gone and Tucker is no doubt going to pivot and surpass his media footprint beyond cable news. That leaves a large void at Fox. One that no doubt the Murdoch family will try to fill. Who might be knighted to replace Tucker Carlson and be the next Fox News firebrand? Let’s look at the bench.
The list
Gutfeld – The natural choice and one that brings the least amount of baggage. Gutfeld has been at Fox since before Tucker and is a rising star in his own right. Greg's continual hustle has earned him the accolades of having the #1 late night talk show on TV. Greg is a stud. That begs the question who would take Greg's late night spot, but that’s sounds like someone else’s problem right now.
Vivek Ramaswamy – What Vivek lacks in journalistic credit he makes up for in sheer acronyms. He has multiple degrees from Harvard and Yale. He is an accomplished author, having several best sellers under his belt, and he loves to debate and argue with people. He’s a compelling public speaker AND a big time investor in software and pharmaceuticals. Suffice to say, Vivek is the total package. Hiring Vivek would also check a diversity box, something that is apparently important to Fox lately, but Vivek would reject that label. He is ardently anti-diversity and has made a name for himself lately by lampooning every facet of woke politics in the past few years.
The problem is that Vivek just announced his campaign for the presidency in 2024. Will he punt and go work for Fox? He doesn’t need the money and he’s young enough that he doesn’t want to settle down anywhere. It would take a lot of zeroes to get him behind a desk five nights a week.
Charlie Kirk – Good old Charmander from Turning Point USA is chummy with the brass at Fox and what he lacks in experience he makes up for in blind devotion to getting on the nerves of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Charlie takes a position on everything from Critical Race Theory to sex to the COVID clot shot. He is an activist through and through. Adding Charlie to the Fox lineup would be a huge step to the political right for Fox and would add a lot of youthful energy to the network.
Mark Moss – My dark horse pick is an established radio and YouTube personality who has the dashing good looks needed for the camera, but a little more poise and grace than Tucker. Moss is the guy who harvests rainwater not for his backyard garden…but in preparation for the apocalypse. Mark has a fantastic handle on not just what’s happening in US and local politics, but he knows how to play the attention game. Mark doesn’t have the media presence and raw follower count that my other picks have but he knows how to play the game and make great content.
