Tucker Carlson’s Continued Attacks Amid Right-Wing Fractures

A new round of commentary from Tucker Carlson has become a flashpoint in an already tense conservative media and political ecosystem. In a recent appearance on Theo Von’s podcast, Carlson delivered a sweeping critique of American leadership, arguing the country is led by “unimpressive, dumb, totally noncreative people,” while also lashing out at prominent figures who sit inside the right’s broader coalition. Mediaite

The episode circulated in the week of December 10, 2025; the Independent reported on the FBI discussion on December 10, and a New York Times story dated December 12 summarized the broader intra-right backlash. The Independent+1

The same conversation included pointed attacks on the Federal Bureau of Investigation under Director Kash Patel. Carlson told Von he did not “have a ton of confidence” in the FBI or the people running it, and he criticized Patel’s social media messaging about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The Independent

Those remarks matter because Tucker Carlson is no longer speaking from within a single legacy platform. His reach now comes through a large independent audience and a network of friendly long-form shows, where criticism can spread quickly and harden into factional identity. Coverage of the episode has framed it as part of a larger pattern: Carlson continuing to attack people on the right, even as disputes over influence, extremism, and institutional control deepen. memeorandum.com

For longtime viewers, this is a familiar move from Tucker Carlson: shifting the target from liberal opponents to the right’s own hierarchy and demanding accountability from within.

Context of Carlson’s Remarks — Tucker Carlson

Theo Von’s “This Past Weekend” is a venue built for long, unstructured conversation, and Tucker Carlson used that space to deliver an argument that goes beyond standard partisan critique. His claim was not merely that the country is run by bad actors, but that it is run by people he considers mediocre—individuals who, in his view, are elevated by networks of patronage and cultural signaling rather than competence. Mediaite

That framing dovetails with a broader style of populist media critique: the idea that elite institutions protect insiders, reward connections, and punish outsiders, regardless of ideology. What makes Carlson’s version unusual is the specificity of his targets. He did not keep the critique abstract. He named people and questioned their qualifications, reputations, and legitimacy inside the conservative universe, a style that has become a signature of Tucker Carlson’s post-Fox era. Mediaite+1

Targets: Bill Ackman and Bari Weiss

One central target in the exchange was billionaire investor Bill Ackman. Carlson described Ackman as “kind of dumb” and “totally non-creative,” and he questioned how Ackman became influential in major institutions. Mediaite

Ackman responded publicly, quoting Carlson’s remarks in a post on X and pushing back on both the insult and the underlying narrative. In that response, Ackman cast the episode as part of a longer dispute and suggested Carlson had previously made claims about him that Ackman viewed as defamatory. X (formerly Twitter)+1

Carlson also attacked media entrepreneur Bari Weiss. Reporting on the episode highlighted Carlson’s claim that Weiss would not rise to her current status in a true meritocracy, and that her proximity to wealthy and powerful allies helped explain her influence. Mediaite+1

While the immediate exchange was personal, the subtext was institutional: Tucker Carlson was arguing that donor-adjacent figures and media executives can become gatekeepers for “respectable” conservatism—deciding who is credible, who is extreme, and which narratives get amplified—without, in his view, earning that authority. Mediaite

Attacks on the FBI and Kash Patel

A second major thread was Carlson’s critique of the FBI and Kash Patel. According to The Independent’s reporting, Carlson said he did not “have a ton of confidence” in the FBI or the men who run it. He criticized Patel for posting premature or inaccurate claims on X after the Charlie Kirk shooting and then walking the comments back after local officials disputed them. The Independent

The Independent reported Carlson mocking the idea of FBI leadership using social media as a public stage, and quoted him characterizing the behavior as “dumb” in the context of agency leadership. The Independent

Other coverage has treated this as part of a broader backlash from right-wing podcasters and influencers toward Patel’s leadership and messaging. The Daily Beast described a rift among major right-wing podcast figures over Patel’s handling of the case and the way online missteps can fuel conspiratorial narratives. The Daily Beast

The Bigger Story: Fractures on the Right

Carlson’s latest attacks did not land in a vacuum. The conservative movement in 2025 has been wrestling with a visible boundary fight: who gets treated as inside the coalition, what kinds of rhetoric are tolerable, and whether institutions should punish or protect figures associated with extremist movements.

One of the clearest recent examples has been the controversy over Tucker Carlson hosting white nationalist Nick Fuentes on his show. CBS News reported that the Heritage Foundation faced internal upheaval after its president, Kevin Roberts, defended Carlson’s decision, a move that prompted resignations and internal pushback. CBS News

The Guardian reported that Roberts later apologized for supporting Carlson’s defense and described resignations tied to Heritage’s antisemitism taskforce amid the backlash. The Guardian The Washington Post also described the internal turmoil at Heritage and the pressure on Roberts after his defense of Carlson and the Fuentes appearance. The Washington Post

The fight is not only about institutions; it is also personal and cultural. The Guardian’s reporting on the Fuentes episode framed the dispute as a “civil war” among U.S. conservatives over whether once-fringe rhetoric is being pulled toward the mainstream and who benefits from that shift. The Guardian

Carlson has also become a target of backlash from within MAGA-aligned circles for actions that some critics frame as disloyal. The Daily Beast reported anger directed at Carlson after he said he had purchased a home in Qatar, with critics questioning his motives and defenders portraying the outrage as performative intramovement policing. The Daily Beast

Why Carlson’s Platform Matters Now

It is easy to dismiss a podcast segment as just a rant, but Tucker Carlson’s influence is large enough—and Tucker Carlson’s audience loyal enough—that his framing can become a shared script among aligned audiences. He can cast a dispute as a moral test, elevate personal feuds into movement-wide arguments, and pressure other figures to align publicly.

The episode also shows Carlson attacking multiple pillars that normally stabilize a party coalition: money (Ackman), media authority (Weiss), and the legitimacy of state institutions (the FBI). Those targets sit inside the conservative world, not outside it, which is why the comments read as a signal of internal power struggle rather than routine opposition politics. Mediaite+1

At minimum, the pattern reinforces a simple fact: the right’s most visible media personalities do not always act as unifiers. In reporting about the Patel dispute, the Daily Beast described how podcast personalities can function like a parallel political class, amplifying or punishing officials through sustained attention and social media pressure. The Daily Beast

Bottom Line

The Theo Von episode adds another chapter to Tucker Carlson’s increasingly public battle with influential people inside the conservative coalition. His remarks targeted Bill Ackman and Bari Weiss while also criticizing FBI Director Kash Patel, illustrating how Tucker Carlson can attack donors, media gatekeepers, and Trump-appointed officials in the same breath. Mediaite+1

The wider context matters: disputes over extremism, institutional legitimacy, and movement identity are already producing resignations, public condemnations, and factional anger across the right. Carlson’s platform does not merely reflect those fractures; Tucker Carlson can intensify them by turning internal disagreements into identity tests for a mass audience

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