The popularity gap Tucker Carlson enjoys over Fox News among conservatives has widened sharply in the wake of his departure from the network, with a new poll putting Carlson’s net favorability rating a whopping 63 points over Fox.
According to the survey from consulting agency Change Research, Carlson’s net favorability rating among Republicans stands at +59.
By contrast, Fox News’ favorability rating among the same demographic is at -4, with the difference being 63 points in favor of the firebrand former host of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” which was the most-watched cable news show in the United States.
Carlson parted ways with Fox in late April, with neither side issuing details about why he left, whether he was fired, or if he remains under contract.
Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times on the polling numbers.
Carlson announced on May 9 that he would bring his show to Twitter, calling it the “last big” remaining nonpartisan platform in the world “where our national conversation incubates and develops.”
His remarks, made in a video on Carlson’s Twitter account, were in part a nod to the efforts of Elon Musk since taking over the social media giant to allow more free speech and eliminate political bias, especially against conservative views.
“The best you can hope for in the news business at this point is the freedom to tell the fullest truth that you can. But there are always limits. And you know that if you bump up against those limits often enough, you will be fired for it,” Carlson said in the video in what could be seen as a hint at the context of his departure from Fox.
In the video, Carlson decried the news media for being misleading “in every story that matters every day of the week, every week of the year.”
Nicholas Fondacaro, associate editor of the conservative media watchdog NewsBusters, told The Epoch Times that Carlson’s mission, like Musk’s, is about free speech.
“Carlson seemed earnest in his announcement video that he believes Twitter is the last bastion of free speech, likely because Elon Musk has made it clear that ensuring free speech was his priority when purchasing the platform,” he told The Epoch Times. “Musk has, by most accounts, talked the talk and walked the walk.”
Musk clarified in a Twitter post that Carlson had not signed any contract with Twitter to broadcast his show on the platform and that the former Fox host would need to follow the same rules that apply to all Twitter users.
“On this platform, unlike the one-way street of broadcast, people are able to interact, critique and refute whatever is said,” Musk said. “And, of course, anything misleading will get @CommunityNotes.”
“I also want to be clear that we have not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever. Tucker is subject to the same rules & rewards of all content creators,” he continued.
“Rewards means subscriptions and advertising revenue share (coming soon), which is a function of how many people subscribe and the advertising views associated with the content,” Musk continued.
“I