How Tucker Carlson Helped Turn Americans Against the Military – By Kevin Baron (Defense One) / April 25, 2023
The partisan firebrand told viewers that uniformed leaders were out to weaken the armed forces and the country itself.
For all the ways Tucker Carlson left his mark on U.S. politics, few are as startling as helping to turn right-wingers against the troops they once revered.
In the olden days, the right would blame social progress (opposing gays in the military, women in combat, etc.) on the Democratic politicians who forced unwanted “social experiments” upon the military. Today, they attack the military and its leaders.
It was a regular theme of Carlson’s top-rated primetime show on Fox News, emboldened by President Trump’s open disdain for “my generals.” Start at the top. We all know why the right hates Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, who still draws fire on social media as a “traitor” who declined to offer “total loyalty” to his erratic, ill-informed, and authoritarian commander-in-chief. After Trump’s successor kept Milley on as his senior military advisor, Carlson began targeting the chairman for his efforts to fight racism in the ranks. “He’s not just a pig, he’s stupid,” the TV host said after Milley rebutted false accusations of pushing critical race theory. “The Pentagon is now the Yale faculty lounge, but with cruise missiles. That should concern you,” the Trinity College grad ranted to his viewers.
