Former Fox News host and Daily Caller Co-Founder Tucker Carlson’s first Twitter broadcast reached nine million views in its first two hours, demolishing his old employer’s ratings in the same time slot the previous day.
Carlson’s 10 minute Twitter monologue went up at 6 p.m. Tuesday. At the same time, “Special Report with Bret Baier,” aired on Fox News. (RELATED: ‘Curiosity Is The Gravest Crime’: Tucker Carlson Returns And Tears Media To Shreds For Ukraine Coverage)
Ep. 1 pic.twitter.com/O7CdPjF830
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 6, 2023
Carlson’s video reached 13 million views within its first three hours on Twitter and it immediately made him a trending topic. Baier’s 6 p.m. broadcast had 1.78 million total views and Jesse Watters’ 7 p.m. broadcast reached two million viewers on the night of June 5, according to Mediate. The Fox News rotation replacing Carlson’s 8 p.m. time slot hit 1.5 million viewers Monday night.
In his monologue, Carlson scorched the corporate media for its coverage of the war in Ukraine and its prioritization of narratives over curiosity. “Nobody knows what’s happening. A small group of people control accesses to all relevant information. And the rest of us don’t know. We’re allowed to yap all we want about racism, but go ahead and talk about something that really matters and see what happens. If you keep it up, they’ll make you be quiet. Trust us. That’s how they maintain control,” Carlson told viewers.
Before Carlson and Fox News parted ways in April, he was the network’s highest rated host and consistently scored the highest ratings on cable news. He is currently embroiled in a breach of contract dispute against the network, with his lawyers arguing the noncompete clause in his contract is no longer valid, according to Axios.
Twitter owner Elon Musk addressed Carlson’s broadcast by calling for more political creators to air their shows on the platform. “Would be great to have shows from all parts of the political spectrum on this platform!” Musk said.
