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Carlson More Popular Than Fox News: Survey

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


A new survey has found that former Fox News host Tucker Carlson remains more popular with Americans than his former employer.

The poll by Rasmussen Reports found that Carlson remains popular among conservative and Republican likely voters. “Fifty-nine percent (59%) of Likely U.S. voters have a favorable impression of Carlson, including 36% who have a Very Favorable opinion of him,” the polling firm noted.

“Thirty-four percent (34%) view Carlson unfavorably, including 25% with a Very Unfavorable impression,” the firm added in a release.

Meanwhile, Fox News now has a lower approval from likely voters, with only 52% of voters viewing the network favorably and 24% very favorably, decidedly lower than Carlson’s numbers. Among likely voters, 42% viewed Fox News unfavorably, with 28% having a very unfavorable view.

When it comes to the impact of Carlson’s firing from the network, only 19 percent of voters thought it would have a positive effect on the network. In contrast, 32 percent believed that his departure would actually lower the quality of the news platform. On the other hand, 42 percent of voters did not think that Carlson’s exit would make any significant difference to Fox.

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Carlson’s show was taken off the air a week ago, though it’s still unclear as to why. That said, a report late last week claimed that another upstart network is interested in signing him and giving him free rein.

Newsmax is reportedly interested in giving Carlson his own primetime show on their network and allowing him to program the whole channel, per TMZ. That would give Carlson a substantial amount of power, including making decisions on shows that currently air on the network.

“Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ … the news channel is doing everything it can to sweeten the deal for Tucker to come on board — including floating the idea of letting him program the whole channel, not just his own show. That would be a pretty enticing deal point … in addition to having his own primetime show, Tucker would have a say over what shows lead into and out of his show, which can be key in achieving bigger TV ratings,” TMZ reported.

“While our sources stress Newsmax hasn’t formally offered Tucker a job — he can’t have formal discussions due to his current Fox News contract — we’re told the network execs have made it clear to people around him, they would basically give him a big say in rebranding their channel,” the report added.

Late last week, rumors began swirling around who Fox News might choose to take over Carlson’s time slot.

Mediaite published a report titled, “Who Will Replace Tucker Carlson at Fox News? Here Are Mediaite’s Top Picks,” where staff members compiled a list of potential hosts who could take over Carlson’s coveted 8 PM time slot. Fox News stated it would rotate hosts before making any final decisions on Carlson’s replacement.

Right now, Jesse Watters has 7 PM ET, Sean Hannity has 9 PM ET, and Laura Ingraham has the 10 PM ET time slot.

Mediaite suggested in its report that Fox News could simply move around Watters, Ingraham, or Hannity to give them the 8 PM time slot and test a new host in a later time slot. That way, a more seasoned host would simply take over Carlson’s time slot on the network.

In the event that Fox News keeps the primetime hosts in their current time slots, here are the top 6 names that Mediaite suggested could take over Carlson’s show:

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Greg Gutfeld — who hosts “The Five” and his late-night comedy show “Gutfeld!”

Tulsi Gabbard — a former Democratic lawmaker and 2020 presidential candidate

Kayleigh McEnany — former press secretary in the Trump administration

Brian Kilmeade — a longtime host and figure at Fox News

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Pete Hegseth — a co-host and contributor at Fox News

Jesse Watters — who hosts “The Five” and his own primetime show

Carlson was reportedly “blindsided” on Monday when he received a phone call from CEO Suzanne Scott informing him that he had been fired.

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