Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson (San Francisco, 1969) has been the most influential journalist in the United States for years. When Tucker Carlson Tonight went off the air in April, his show was by far the most watched on American television.
Despite his success, or probably because of it, FOX canceled it to scrupulously honor its new relationship with Disney: any hint of opposition to the movement woke It was left over—and left over—from the channel’s schedule that, by mistake or habit, is still a reference for millions of conservative viewers.
Before going to Rupert Murdoch’s station, he had already left CNN in 2005 and MSNBC in 2008, and now he takes refuge, free, from his summer home, in X (vulgo Twitter), where he broadcasts a new space with dozens of millions of viewers.
Tucker Carlson, journalist and close to Donald Trump, He took advantage of his visit to Spain to meet Santiago Abascal and experience Ferraz’s demonstrations in person. against Pedro Sánchez, his partners and their agreements. Us, to chat with him.
It comes from Washington, where the similarities between American and Spanish politics are clearly perceived. In his opinion, what are the enemies of Western nations and democracies?
It is the very structure of Spain, the United States, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the entire West that has changed from a democratically based system, in which the majority had their needs met, to a situation in which the person average gets absolutely nothing. There is no connection between people’s problems and what the Government does.
Isn’t that the opposite of what we understand by democracy?
That is not democracy. A very small group of people wields more economic and political power than ever before.
From there, where?
One of two. Either we will live in a dictatorship, and that is where we are moving, or there will be some kind of popular reaction that will return us to democracy. We are heading for a collision and, once again, Spain shows the way. If anyone wants to know what the next ten years will be like in the rest of the West, look at Spain. It is not the first time it happens.
Just last night he had the opportunity to participate in the demonstrations against Sánchez and his associates. It has been 11 days in a row so far and the Government and the system’s media continue to repeat that it is about riots, violence and extremism. Was that what you saw in Ferraz?
No. It was the most moderate demonstration I have ever attended. There was no one calling for a revolution, but people demanding that the Government fulfill its fundamental promise, which is to represent them and share power with the people. That is democracy: the government of the people. But with an Executive that ignores the people’s problems there is no democracy. So no, it is not a group of revolutionaries or violent people. Quite the opposite. In Ferraz people gather who demand a return to what they were promised decades ago, which was a democracy.
It was the first time he coincided with Santiago Abascal. What is your impression of him and his role in these times that we live in Spain?
Santiago is a person of principles. I have spent my life interviewing politicians. I have interviewed all the politicians. That’s what I do for a living. And they are interested in other things. “How do I get to power?”, “How do I get votes?”, “How can I form coalitions?” I spent yesterday afternoon with him, we had dinner together and walked around Madrid. We also saw each other this morning, and he didn’t mention those matters even once.
Is that common? What have they talked about?
Santiago talks about the Spain that his children will inherit. He thinks big, and it is people like that who change history, who are able to take three steps back and think “what will this be like in 100 years?” He is who I imagined he would be. I was very impressed. And I don’t like politicians, I don’t spend time with them voluntarily.