Tucker Carlson’s contrarian, anti-establishment views can be traced to his shift from a mainstream conservative to a MAGA-approved populist figure. Photo: Wikimedia CommonsEver since the US and Israel launched military strikes on Iran last month, US President Donald Trump has faced opposition from several domestic quarters. One of his most vocal critics has been Tucker Carlson, a prominent journalist for over three decades across various newsrooms and a leading proponent of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.Over the years, Carlson had maintained a close relationship with Trump, sharing ideological alignment on migration, gun control, and abortion laws. Despite this shared history, he has openly expressed his disdain for Trump’s interventionist actions in Iran, repeatedly questioning the legitimacy of the American invasion. By refusing to align the conservative MAGA movement with Trump’s sensibilities, he has emerged as a thought leader with an independent base. Although he has said he’s not interested in assuming office, he remains an unlikely but potential US presidential candidate for 2028.Born and raised in California, Carlson turned to journalism after a failed attempt to join the Central Intelligence Agency. Starting his career as a fact-checker at the conservative journal Policy Review, he went on to work as a contributor for publications such as New York, The Atlantic, and The Wall Street Journal. A 2003 piece that he wrote for Esquire was nominated for a National Magazine award.From the 2000s, he started working as a TV host and commentator, appearing on CNN, PBS, and MSNBC. In 2009, he began appearing on Fox News as a guest host and commentator; in 2016, he secured his own primetime news show, Tucker Carlson Tonight, which went on to become one of the most viewed news programmes in American TV history. His show was instrumental in bringing conservative and even far-right viewpoints into the mainstream. He finally left in 2023 amid controversies over a lawsuit against Fox News regarding false claims about voting systems used in the 2020 US presidential election (which Trump lost) and leaked emails wherein Carlson had criticised Trump as well as upper management of Fox News.Also read | Iran war puts Donald Trump’s MAGA under strain as loyalists break ranksHe then shifted his operations primarily to digital platforms: his podcast, The Tucker Carlson Show, has millions of subscribers on both Spotify and YouTube. In 2024, he was the first American journalist to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.Carlson’s contrarian, anti-establishment views can be traced to his shift from a mainstream conservative to a MAGA-approved populist figure. His uncompromising stance on immigration has seen him propagate the “Great Replacement theory”, which suggests that the influx of religious and ethnic minorities into the US is a ploy by political elites to displace the Christian-American population. Stating that his worldview is shaped by his Christian faith, Carlson has opposed gun control and abortion rights. He has also consistently downplayed climate change.A different kind of conservativeCarlson’s dissent regarding the US-Iran war is not his first deviation from Trump and the broader MAGA mandate. Besides his advocacy of a non-interventionist foreign policy stance, he has also been critical of Israel’s actions and has faced accusations of anti-Semitism in the past.Story continues below this adThese are rooted in Carlson’s “paleoconservative” alignment, which — unlike neoconservatives — advocates strict isolationism, economic protectionism, and a return to traditional, religious-nationalist identity. As the administration deepened its military involvement in West Asia, Carlson has relentlessly scrutinised US support for Israel and intervention in Iran, prompting Trump to declare that Carlson “is not MAGA” and has “lost his way”.But Carlson has managed to survive and thrive by framing his opposition as a defence of authentic “America First” values, positioning himself as the moral compass of the conservative base. © The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Express Explained