Tucker Carlson Is An Obvious Frontrunner for 2028 As Democrats Flounder
The far-Right pundit is filling a vacuum created by cross-party moral rot.
Democratic voters know their party is in shambles as leadership sleeps at the wheel. What many don’t realize, due to the algorithmic manipulations of online life, is that right-wing and right-curious individuals occupy an entirely different media ecosystem with incredibly successful figures. And that ecosystem has already produced an early frontrunner for U.S. president in 2028.
Far-right characters don’t tend to exist on traditional television shows or in establishment newspapers. They live somewhere more powerful: inside the apps people use every day. From streaming services to social media apps to semi-private fan channels on messaging platforms, an entire world exists with highly successful far-right and conspiracist figures like Candace Owens, Alex Jones, Megyn Kelly and Jack Posobiec.
One far-right individual towers above the rest in influence: Tucker Carlson.
As the administration of President Donald Trump threatens Mad King-style rule over the world through at-will war crimes and establishment Democrats hide in various corners from their own shadows, Carlson has emerged as a voice of something akin to reason. In one of his most viral clips yet, Carlson tears into Trump for his profane threat of genocide against Iran on Easter.
“Who do you think you are? You’re tweeting out the f-word on Easter morning,” Carlson said with clear outrage. “So, obviously, you’re mocking the religion of Iran. Okay. If you seek a religious war, that’s a good idea. But by the way, no decent person mocks other people’s religions.”
Carlson wasn’t done letting the president he once supported from the campaign stage have it.
“The message of all faith at the biggest picture level is the message in our Bible, which is: you are not God. And only if you think you are, do you talk this way (...) This is not a theocracy. We don’t go to war with other theocracies to find out which theocracy is more effective. We are not a theocracy. And God willing, we never will be because theocracies corrupt the religion,” Carlson continued.
Through monologues like this, Carlson has made inroads with a huge swath of the public that isn’t part of the MAGA movement, especially disillusioned young people. His consistent and clear-throated condemnation of Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians has been the strongest boon to his credibility, because the majority of Democratic and Republican leaders have voted to fund the genocide and refuse to acknowledge it’s even happening.
You might be thinking to yourself: What’s the problem? Isn’t it a good thing to have a GOP against war crimes and genocide? Absolutely. The issue comes down to the fact that Carlson is performing a sleight-of-hand that voters won’t realize occurred until it’s too late. Carlson is the master of the “just asking questions” and evasion game, appealing to common sensibilities while insinuating darker ideas or outright hiding them.
During his time at Fox News, Carlson became the number one figure for online neo-Nazis who congregate on online forums like Stormfront, a particularly notable neo-Nazi space where they’ve gathered for nearly 30 years.
I’ve monitored Stormfront conversations first-hand over time and dug deep into the neo-Nazi ecosystem. Self-described Nazis made it their job to boost Carlson to “normies” as the least offensive possible entry-point into white identity politics, which finds the Great Replacement conspiracy theory as a rallying point. For those who don’t know, the Great Replacement conspiracy theory is a semi-sanitized extension of the white genocide conspiracy theory popularized by neo-Nazi David Lane in the mid-1990s.
The white genocide conspiracy theory holds that Jews are conspiring to eliminate the white race through interracial procreation, abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and a host of other elements unworthy of any more time in this piece. Carlson clearly recognized his popularity with this subset of white nationalists and actively courted them on Fox News. He wasn’t even shy about it and has platformed white nationalism online since his firing.
Carlson is also a proud booster of the international far-Right, highlighting authoritarian Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán as a specific inspiration from which the U.S. should take political and cultural cues. Under Orbán’s leadership, democracy in Hungary has collapsed. That is the future Carlson sees for the U.S.
In an especially smart pivot, Carlson 2.0 (or 3.0, or 4.0, depending on how you count) has ceased the social policy commentary common during his run at Fox News because he knows his far-Right authoritarian views are wildly unpopular.
Most Americans support basic rights for minorities, believe the government has no place in making medical choices around issues like abortion and that multiculturalism is a net positive for our nation. They don’t support rounding up immigrants or trying to whiten the overall complexion of the country. Carlson is not aligned with everyday Americans in his views. So he chooses the issue on which he knows every decent American will agree: stop bombing children.
The fact that Carlson is able to fill a vacuum with this message speaks to the moral rot of both political parties. Carlson’s declarations of opposition to genocide and war crimes should be a bar every politician in both major parties can clear. But it isn’t.
If Democrats wish to live in anything resembling a free society, they need a nominee who can expose the lie of Tucker Carlson by embracing universal human rights at home and abroad. Democrats have a bench of figures in the wings ready to champion universal human rights, but party leadership and special interests will do their level best to cut them off before they gain momentum. Voters’ only hope is to wrest power from these feckless leaders and ensure a Democratic party prepared to lead the nation out of our pitch-black moment. Otherwise, Carlson and his ilk will own the American future.