This is the first article (of four) about Tucker Carlson. In my book BS3: Etcetera (the third book in my Burdett/Senger genealogical series), I devoted a chapter to Tucker because I admire him as a writer, and because he seemed to share some admirable traits with one of my ancestors – Sir Francis Burdett. I will elaborate on these two points later.
The four excerpts, included in this series, contain ALL of Chapter 6 (Tucker Carlson) in BS3: Etcetera. I have, however, made a few format changes and added a few clarifying entries [in brackets].
The book chapter – and thus these four articles/excerpts – were written three years ago. I believe that the words and thoughts have passed the test of time. At the end of each of the articles, I will provide some comments and updates, as they relate to the political and social landscape of today.
I should note (and noted on the “Contents” page of BS3), that my chapter on Tucker Carlson was written before Fox News “canned” him on April 24, 2023. My book was in proofread stage on that date – and I decided to go with what I had at that time. I will also elaborate on that matter later.
Without further ado, here is the first of the four articles/excerpts on Tucker Carlson.
+++ The Start of Excerpt 1 +++
Most of this book was written in the fall of 2022, in the days leading up to the midterm elections, in which the underperforming Republican Party barely won back the House of Representatives. Another major happening that autumn – and no doubt related to the midterms – was the “United States House Select Committee to investigate the January 6th, 2021, Attack on the United States Capitol” – the “January 6th Committee” – the committee “investigating” the “insurrection.” Much of my writing during that time was done with “Tucker” in the background – either live on Fox News or streaming from the Fox Nation website – critiquing the absurdity of the times.
Tucker Carlson
The “Tucker” that I am referring to is of course Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson, the host of Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News, the host of Tucker Carlson Originals on Fox Nation, and the host of the Tucker Carlson Today podcast, available via Fox Nation. The latter show consists of hour-long conversational interviews with an eclectic assortment of guests.
Tucker Carlson began his media career as a writer for publications such as Esquire, The Daily Beast, The New Republic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Weekly Standard. Above all, in my opinion, Tucker is a writer. That is his strength – the ability to write a coherent, logical, and interesting story. His personal courage is his other major strength.
I became more impressed with Tucker’s writing after reading his book The Long Slide: Thirty Years in American Journalism, which was published in 2021. That book opened with a short history of his career, his family, and some observations on the corrupt state of journalism and publishing today. The rest of the book contained a collection of magazine stories that Tucker had written over the years.
Some of the stories that I read in The Long Slide were political in nature – on visiting West Africa with Al Sharpton (Esquire, November 2003); articles on George Bush, John McCain, James Carville, and Donald Trump (“Donald Trump is Shocking, Vulgar, and Right” – Politico Magazine, January 28, 2016). Some of the other stories were more personal and lighter; stories about deadly toys, panhandlers on the street, spud cannons, and summer homes. The latter stories were well-written articles on our American culture.
Tucker has written two other books of note: Politicians, Partisans, and Parasites: My Adventures in Cable News (2003) and Ship of Fools: How a Selfish Ruling Class is Bringing America to the Brink of Revolution (2018). I believe that the titles adequately describe the contents of those books and the author’s beliefs.
Tucker’s strengths do not include dancing. I no doubt saw Tucker (since I was a fan of the show) but do not remember him competing during the third season of Dancing with the Stars. On that series, on September 13, 2006, he danced a cha-cha with professional dancer Elena Grinenko, which judge Bruno Tonioli called “an awful mess.” Scoring only 12 out of 30, he was the first “star” eliminated.
In Tucker’s defense, he apparently missed some lessons because of a work-related assignment in Lebanon. The YouTube video of his dance substantiated the judges scores, but Tucker appeared to have had a good time – in what was obviously a stretch for him.
Tucker Carlson’s television career dates to CNN (2000-2005), PBS (2004-2005) and MSNBC (2005-2008). He joined FOX News in 2009. Tucker began hosting Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News in the fall of 2016. He became more visible to me in early 2017 when he replaced Megyn Kelly in the 8 PM (central) time slot. A few months later his show was moved to 7 PM (central) after the cancelation of The O’Reilly Factor. So there he was, on Fox News right after dinner, before The Sean Hannity Show and The Ingraham Angle.
To be truthful, I did not like the Tucker Carlson I first saw on Fox News. He came across as whiney and rude to his guests. He talked over and interrupted his guests, no doubt in part because of satellite delays. Being something of a quiet talker, I hate it when someone talks over me. My natural reaction is to shut down – to get out of the “conversation.” Thus, I shut him down, and for the most part ignored his show – his time slot.
But then, over time, he and his show’s format seemed to change. The opening monologues started to reflect his strength as a writer – a writer able to present logical and concise stories. His guests tended to be people who were also logical. Over time, his show [became] more palatable to me. If I had the time or inclination to watch one cable news show on Fox News – it was Tucker Carlson Tonight.
+++ The End of Excerpt 1 +++
Excerpt 1 – An Update
As I noted previously, Tucker left Fox News unceremoniously on April 24, 2003. Details as to why Tucker was removed were (and are) vague (e.g., related to the Dominion Voting System defamation settlement, the Fox CSR/ESG score). Tucker had been temporarily “canceled” but he had not been charged or imprisoned (as was Sir Francis Burdett, more later in this series).
A few months later Tucker returned via “streaming.” He founded the Tucker Carlson Network (tuckercarlson.com), which today contains the Tucker Carlson Show (real conversations at home), documentaries (you can trust), a collection of his speeches, and his “Morning Note” (which is also distributed via email to Tucker’s subscribers).
In my opinion, Tucker’s strength is still his writing, his “Morning Note” for example, his ability to write coherent, logical, and concise stories about what the hell is happening in this world. When he goes “off the cuff” (e.g., on baby boomers like me) he strays from his strength (as I noted in my September 21, 2025, post entitled “Baby Boomers and Charlie Kirk …”).
Coming soon – Excerpt #2