Illustration Anthony Gerace, after Stephen Voss / Redux-Réa, Doug Mills / Réa, Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader / NYT
PortraitTrump's back pedaling on Iran? This Fox News reporter should be the one. Presenter of a talk show followed by three million viewers, Tucker Carlson is however not known for his sense of measure. But his inflammatory rhetoric has everything to please the American president.
Watching Tucker Carlson's talk show on the American channel Fox News is like diving into the parallel universe of Trumpism every night, a world where Democrats are inevitably infrequent, where immigrants pose a vital risk to the United States. , or 'Chaos' and "Terror" will befall the country if Donald Trump is not re-elected in November.
Alternating worried expressions, acting and wrinkled forehead, the presenter of the talk show "Tucker Carlson Tonight" holds his very large audience (around 3 million viewers) during sixty minutes of monologues, willingly aggressive interviews and comments on political news. The tone is intended in turn to be solemn, alarmist or mocking. From a right-wing ideological line, more contradictory than interviewer, this son of a good family castigates the elites and advocates an unconditional and nationalist "America first".
John Bolton's Unzipper
Among his followers, a viewer seems particularly attentive to his positions. It's no secret that Donald Trump delights in Fox News shows for a few hours a day. However, several of his advisers confirmed to the Associated Press news agency on January 9: Tucker Carlson would have the ear of the American president to the point of influencing his decisions.
Thus, Donald Trump's recent changes of foot on Iranian politics would not be unrelated to Mr. Carlson's evening thoughts. The latter, a convinced non-interventionist, reluctant to any military adventure led by the United States on the other side of the world, would have persuaded the president not to react to the attack on an American drone by the Iranians in June .
Likewise, after the assassination of Iranian Ghassem Soleimani on January 3, and Iranian reprisals against American soldiers based in Iraq, the Trump administration has renounced a response. Carlson's pleas for de-escalation and retreat into domestic politics, reflecting a sentiment shared by part of Trump's electoral base, would have convinced the president.
"The influence of the media and a journalist on a president is unprecedented. »Matt Gertz, member of Media Matters
In the fall, the first-to-the-communist presenter would even have had the head of the president's former homeland security adviser, John Bolton, a regular guest at Fox News, known for his wartime and thanked bluntly. His dismissal – or his resignation, depending on the principal concerned – will remain "One of the strengths of Trump's first term", according to Carlson.
