Something I’ve always noticed is how transitory these things we take to be important are, and how fast things change.” (Tucker Carlson in Tucker, 76)

We live in some weird times, Friends. I’ve been shocked during our Stateside visit at how quickly the news cycle changes. Every single day, we’re faced with world-changing, headline stories that grab everyone’s attention—and yet within 2-3 days, we’ve forgotten these disasters even happened.

Top of the news story several weeks ago was the Iran-Israel war, which President Trump christened “The Twelve-Day War.” This and Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas following October 7 has caused a great deal of debate among Conservative pundits, specifically about Israel’s rights and America’s responsibilities towards her. Front and center of the side leaning away from an inherent love for Israel is Tucker Carlson, a development that’s surprised me.

Many have called Tucker a fool, a traitor, an antisemite (sheesh, Mark Levine has been especially harsh to “Qatarlson”)—and I’ll be honest that I’ve been tempted to turn my back on him too. But I don’t want to be a knee-jerker, immediately calling someone an enemy simply because I disagree with him on a point. So when I saw this book at a thrift store, I felt compelled to read it, not to get informed about the roots of Carlson’s “antisemite views” (which I don’t believe he has) but to educate me on who this guy is that I’ve enjoyed watching for so long.

My Brief History with Tucker

Chadwick Moore covers the full length of Carlson’s life up to publication, but not chronologically. I really didn’t know much about Carlson’s history at all until I first saw him on Fox News in February 2020.

We had just evacuated from Asia and were quarantining as a family of 4 for two weeks in a hotel room (before it was cool), bored out of our proverbial gourds. We stumbled upon Tucker’s monologue one night in which he spoke so openly about China that we were floored. He also reported on Trump’s impeachment proceedings and had such a unique take that we became instant fans. In fact, I recall a similar thing happening to me decades earlier when I first heard Bill O’Reilly call abortion “murder” on cable television. That was the day I started watching Fox News.

Much of this book covers those years from COVID until Tucker’s firing from Fox News and his entrance into the world of podcasting. I’ve continued listening to his programs off and on (though admittedly, I prefer his 3-minute monologues to his 2-hour interviews). I was a particular fan of his time in Moskow interviewing Vladamir Putin and giving an honest take on the Russia of today. As he stated at one point in the book:

“Everything is more complicated that you think it is, including and especially in wars.” (95)

Incidentally, while I don’t think we need to “hear the other side” of the Iran-Israel War via his interview of the Iranian President, I can at least understand Tucker’s intent in wanting to interview the guy, despite the hatred that move has garnered. He’s a true journalist and he’s after the story. If he were really in it for the money or for notoriety, he’d be making other moves than the ones that end in boycotts and loss of sponsorships.

What I’ve Learned about Tucker

Through snippets from Tucker’s life, Moore introduces us to a guy who’s always been a provocateur. Even since childhood, Tucker has been one to buck against trends simply because they’re trends—like refusing to eat vegetables or to quit smoking. He apparently doesn’t wear seatbelts either, because “the government can’t tell me what to do!” I’ve known people like this: you love them, but they’re also a bit loony.

Considering his history, I don’t think Tucker Carlson is surprised that the Conservative Right has suddenly turned their noses up at him. He’s long been an enemy of the neocons, as this quote shows:

“The Americans occupying Iraq couldn’t even admit to themselves they were colonialists… Instead, the State Department dressed up the whole operation like it was a kind of armed sensitivity training seminar, designed to liberate Iraqi women from their traditional gender roles. … The result was failure, accompanied by chaos on every level. Watching it, I realized that there was nothing conservative about neoconservatism. The neocons were just liberals with guns, the most destructive kind.” (128)

I recall Carlson often saying that virtually everyone in Washington is corrupt, evil, and being blackmailed for some nefarious deed or another. Rare it is to find anyone in Congress with a happy marriage, and yet it takes someone not living that way first to notice it and then to call it out. That’s why this next statement stuck out to me, in the context of his Washington D.C. home being attacked by Antifa nutjobs:

If someone wanted to shoot me, he could. I hope nobody does. But I can definitely think of worse things that being assassinated—like humiliating myself, being caught lying, diminishing myself, embarrassing my children. I’m a fatalist… I don’t want to die, I don’t have a death wish. But the whole idea that living as long as you can is the whole point of life is ridiculous to me. What matters is how you live. (34)

This book helped me better understand the way Tucker thinks and to recognize that, while he’s oftentimes out to make a splash of controversy, he genuinely believes what he argues. He’s grown up from the “debate from any side just to debate” mentality of his college years and is out to get answers to genuine questions. As Moore puts it:

Many of [his] harshest critics will at least agree he has been remarkably steady in his views over the decades. (182)

I appreciate a guy willing to ask the hard questions to who dares to quit toing party lines when those lines stop making sense.

Conclusion

This book has helped me better understand Tucker Carlson, a dude I still enjoy watching, even if his approach in the recent Ted Cruz interview was petty. This whole experience has reminded me that it’s not good to turn our backs on fellow Conservatives, even when the issues we disagree on are as important as America’s relationship with Israel. As a Christian listening to these constant debates, I’ll admit that I’m sometimes confused about our Scriptural duty towards Israel, so I follow the likes of Joel C. Rosenberg to get my grounding.

This book doesn’t speak to the Israel issue, of course, but it provides enough context to Tucker to help me think critically about his stance. That for me has been a good place to start.

©2025 E.T.