How Tucker Carlson emerged as a "victim" and the voice of white grievance politics

The Washington Post

The Washington Post's Michael Kranish dug into how Carlson rose to the top of the conservative media ecosystem using interviews with current and former associates, as well as reviews of his books, broadcasts and writings over nearly three decades. "What emerges is a portrait of an ambitious television personality who came of age in privilege — having grown up in an upper-class enclave and attended private schools — but who, by his own telling, is a victim," says Kranish. "Carlson, in his writings and commentaries, has described resentment toward liberals as far back as the first grade. He has frequently ridiculed the notion that America should celebrate diversity and has lashed out repeatedly at the idea that he, as a White person, bears any responsibility for racism against Black people. Several people who have interacted with him over the years say they don’t know what he really believes, but they say they are increasingly troubled by his influence as what one of his former mentors described as a 'very talented demagogue.' Two of the leading conservative activists battling critical race theory, an academic construct in which systemic racism is studied, credit him with the rapid rise of their movement, while Black scholars he frequently targets say he mischaracterizes and manipulates their work to suit his agenda. Carlson’s rise has, not coincidentally, come about during a time of extraordinary political upheaval. His audience soared as Donald Trump was remaking the Republican Party around “America first” appeals that embraced further restrictions on migration and a turn away from America’s tradition as a land of immigrants. And the show thrived as the murder of George Floyd triggered a visceral debate over systemic racism, and after a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol. Night after night, Carlson stokes resentment among his audience of nearly 3 million — which gave him the highest-rated cable news show in the most recent quarter — and the millions more who absorb his viral outbursts on social media. He blasts liberals, throttles Republican leaders whom he sees as insufficiently devoted to battling the 'woke' left, and generally sets the parameters for the far-right anti-elitism that defines today’s GOP." Kranish also contacted Carlson's first grade teacher, Monica Raymond, who says he embellished his description of her as a liberal who wore Indian skirts and sobbed at her desk to the point that his dad had to "hire a tutor to get me through phonics." Raymond, who's now 77, didn't know about Carlson ridiculing her. “Oh my God,” she said when informed of Carlson’s attack against her. “That is the most embellished, crazy thing I ever heard.”