Last week, it was announced by Fox News that Tucker Carlson was leaving the network. The network described it as a “mutual decision to part ways” but news reports soon began to circulate that Carlson’s sudden departure was due to his being fired by the conservative network.
A poll conducted by YouGov after the news broke found that about three quarters of Americans (77%) had heard about the firing in the days after it happened.n Americans were more likely to approve (44%) than disapprove (28%) of Carlson’s firing. Though they are split on if it will be good (24%) or bad (23%) for Fox News overall.
Those who say that Fox News is the cable news channel they watch the most are more likely to say they disapprove (50%) than approve (29%) of his firing. People who sat they watch Fox News daily are more likely to disapprove of Carlson’s outing by a much wider margin.62% to 30%. Republicans (51%) are more likely to disapprove of the programming overhaul than Independents (28%) and Democrats (9%).
Americans who say they watch Fox News more than other cable networks are more likely to say that his departure will be good (34%) rather than bad (12%) for the network overall. However, less daily viewers (29%) and Republicans (17%) expect his departure will benefit the network. It’s not hard to see why they would be unsure how the network will do without Carlson, who was the networks biggest star taking over the 8pm Primetime spot from Bill O’Riley several years ago. People who gave a favorable opinion of the departed star are less likely to say it will be good (23%) for Fox News than people who have an unfavorable opinion of him (36%).
A poll by YouGov in 2022 that measure trust in media outlets and news personalities found that Carlson was among the most trusted figures overall for Republicans who knew of him. Two-thirds of Republicans who were familiar with him (65%) called him trustworthy. In the poll he ranked as the highest among Fox News hosts ahead of Laura Ingraham (61%) Sean Hannity (59%) and Brett Baier(54%).