What Will Tucker Carlson Do Next? He May Already Know

AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Among the many lingering questions in the days since Tucker Carlson was abruptly dumped from Fox News, one stands out: what’s next for the man who just last week was the top-rated host in all of cable news?

We may have the answer to that question sooner than expected.

“OMG wait till everyone sees what [Carlson] has planned,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), a pal of the former Fox News host, tweeted on Friday.

Carlson left little in the way of clues for his next move in a video posted to Twitter this week. In the video, shot from his home in Florida and released shortly after the publication of another embarrassing report on his private behavior, Carlson railed against the cable news industry he spent his career in.

“The other thing you notice when you take a little time off is how unbelievably stupid most of the debates you see on television are,” he said. “In five years, we won’t even remember that we had them – trust me as someone who’s participated.”

“See you soon,” he concluded. The clip has drawn 75 million views since it was posted Wednesday night. Carlson did not respond to Mediaite’s request for comment on whether he has decided on a next move.

There may be some limitations on Carlson’s options. He can’t exactly join another big cable news network like CNN or MSNBC. Fox News was the last of the big three he hadn’t already been fired from.

What’s more, a fat payout from Fox will likely be tied to a noncompete, preventing him from joining the competition anytime soon.

To deal with the separation, Carlson hired Bryan Freedman, an LA-based attorney with a reputation somewhere between pitbull and powerhouse, who boasts considerable experience negotiating lucrative exits from TV news. He locked down Megyn Kelly’s $30 million departure from NBC and is handling Chris Cuomo’s ongoing dispute with CNN. When Don Lemon was fired the same day as Carlson earlier this week, the CNN vet also tapped Freedman.

An independent venture seems more likely for Carlson. His audience is by and large skeptical of what they would call the mainstream media (for some, that includes Fox) and he has experience as a media entrepreneur. In 2010, Carlson co-founded The Daily Caller, a conservative blog that he could very well return to in some capacity.

Other media companies have shown eager interest. Glenn Beck, who founded The Blaze after he was booted from Fox years ago, extended an invitation for Carlson to join his outlet. OAN chief Robert Herring said he’d happily offer Carlson $25 million to hop aboard the far-right network. Kremlin-backed RT offered Carlson a job the day he was fired.

On Friday, TMZ reported that Newsmax, the conservative cable news network that has surged in the wake of Carlson’s ouster, was “floating the idea of letting him program the whole channel, not just his own show.”

When reached for comment, Newsmax said in a statement: “We have not spoken with Tucker Carlson but Newsmax is always open to a conversation with incredible talent, including Tucker.”