Is Nigel Farage the Next Tucker Carlson?
By J. Max Robins, July 12, 2023
A dozen weeks after trap-dooring the top-rated Tucker Carlson off the network, Fox News suits finally named his successor, tapping right wing wise guy commentator Jesse Watters to fill that gaping Tucker-sized hole at 8 p.m. But the true heir apparent to Carlson’s brand of primetime rage-mongering may be a 59-year-old Brexiteer with MAGA cred up the arse.
Hardly a household name in the U.S., Nigel Farage is exactly that in his native England. An ex-member of the European Parliament and former head of the far-right nationalist UK Independence Party, Farage led the Brexit campaign for the United Kingdom to leave the E.U. Perpetually present as a political pundit on British TV, he happily left politics two years ago for the far cozier confines of the UK upstart network GB News. In short order, his nightly “Farage” has become GBN’s highest rated show.
Last month, at the TRIC Awards (think: British hybrid of Emmys and People’s Choice), he beat out several veteran broadcasters, including Piers Morgan, in the award for Best News Presenter. Upon taking the stage at the posh Great Room in the historic Grosvenor hotel to accept his award, Farage slammed the “establishment mainstream media” and basked in the boos and jeers from crowd of industry bigwigs and celebrities, quipping, “The approval of your audience is the ultimate accolade.”
Tight with Trump and Tucker
No sooner had Farage accepted his TRIC statuette than he got into a noisy public squabble with the banking industry, claiming that one bank had closed his accounts and several others had subsequently turned him down as a client because of his political views. The controversy made international headlines last week, prompting British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to call for an investigation and Farage to threaten self-imposed exile.
While his banking woes are unlikely to send him packing, I can easily imagine a juicy offer from Fox News or Newsmax would drive him to book the next QE2 bound for NYC. Farage appears to be loving his GBN career switch and the power he wields with the hundreds of thousands of viewers who tune into his nightly pontifications. A former paid contributor to Fox News, he knows the influence and access to power that can come with a primetime perch. Just ask Trump-whisperer Sean Hannity — or Carlson himself.
Farage certainly checks the boxes on the job description for Raging Right-Wing Ranter. A major MAGA fanboy during The Donald’s 2016 White House run, he got up close and cozy with the campaign, forging an alliance with Brexit fellow-traveler Steve Bannon and Trump himself. He was the first British politician Trump met with upon taking residency at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. In a most on-brand breach of protocol, Trump even lobbied then Prime Minister David Cameron to appoint Farage the British ambassador to the U.S.
In recent years, Farage has made the hajj to Mar-a-Lago, contributing a mash note of a column in The Spectator, where he notes Trump’s “magnetic appeal,” likens his “old friend” to “the king of a medieval court” who “wields enormous power,” and concludes that “the future of the conservative movement is very much in his hands.” After winning his TRIC award, Farage boasted on Twitter about receiving hearty congratulations from “the 45th President of the United States.”
Trump is hardly Farage’s only powerful stateside ally. His bromance with Carlson was on full display in their chat during the March 30 edition of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” in which the fierce anti-interventionists discussed the Russian invasion of Ukraine and aimed the blamethrower squarely at the Biden Administration, absolving Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin of any responsibility. Just as Carlson is Russia Today’s favorite American Putin apologist, Farage is the propaganda network’s preferred British shill. Both share a fondness for Hungarian strongman Victor Orbán and dog-whistling anti-Semitic insinuations that Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros is the mastermind of a vast left wing conspiracy to undermine democracy. When Fox News finally gave Carlson the boot, Farage tweeted in solidarity: “Tucker Carlson is irreplaceable. This will hurt Fox News.”
The Politico-to-TV News Pipeline
The American news business has long provided a soft and lucrative landing for recovering politicos, from legendary “Meet the Press” moderator Tim Russert to ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, Lawrence O’Donnell, Nicole Wallace, and on and on. At Fox News, the weekend lineup has long been a TV host training camp for GOP veterans like Mike Huckabee, Trey Gowdy and John Kasich. To my knowledge, neither Fox News President Suzanne Scott nor Newsmax supremo Chris Ruddy has reached out to Farage. But I do know that he’s been on friendly terms with Rupert Murdoch throughout his career in politics.
While it’s hard to predict how the very British Farage would play with American viewers, his barnburner of a speech at a Trump rally in Jackson, Mississippi, during the 2016 campaign suggests that his accent won’t spoil the MAGA appetite for rageful red meat. And for a man who rose to prominence by persuading the UK to slam the door shut on the rest of the world, Farage clearly has ambition that knows no borders.
J. Max Robins (@jmaxrobins) is executive director of the Center for Communication. He was formerly editor-in-chief of Broadcasting & Cable, and has contributed to many publications including the Wall Street Journal, Columbia Journalism Review and Forbes.
Interested in more news about right-wing websites curated especially for mainstream audiences? Subscribe to our free daily newsletter.
Nigel Farage certainly checks the boxes on the job description for Raging Right-Wing Ranter. A major MAGA fanboy during The Donald’s 2016 White House run, he got up close and cozy with the campaign, forging an alliance with Brexit fellow-traveler Steve Bannon and Trump himself. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
