Tucker Carlson’s parting newsletter torches Donald Trump as “complicit” in the failures of the U.S. establishment, signaling a total break with MAGA orthodoxy.
At a Glance
- Tucker Carlson released a final Substack post before shuttering his newsletter
- The post accuses Donald Trump of enabling the very elites he once vowed to fight
- Carlson frames the coming political season as an all-out ideological war
- He claims Trump’s COVID policies aligned with bureaucratic overreach
- The post signals Carlson’s pivot away from establishment conservatism
A Final Detonation from the Right
Tucker Carlson, the conservative firebrand once seen as a loyal ally of Donald Trump, closed his independent newsletter with a scorching critique of the former president. The final Substack entry, titled Until Then, marks Carlson’s formal departure from commentary via subscription and makes clear he intends to enter what he calls an “all-out war” against the political order—including Trump himself.
Carlson’s central accusation is stark: that Trump, during his presidency, failed to dismantle the entrenched bureaucracy and instead empowered many of its mechanisms, particularly during the COVID-19 crisis. He highlights Trump’s reliance on figures like Anthony Fauci and his support for lockdowns and emergency spending as signs of capitulation.
Carlson asserts that this betrayal, though perhaps unintentional, proved just as damaging as actions by career bureaucrats. “[Trump] had four years and didn’t fire anyone who mattered,” Carlson wrote, noting that the system remained fully intact after Trump’s departure.
Watch a report: Tucker Carlson declares war on Trump and the GOP.
Warpath, Not Whimper
The Substack exit does not mark a retreat. Instead, Carlson positions himself as a combatant in what he calls an imminent ideological battle—one he implies neither Democrats nor Republicans are prepared to wage honestly. His final message frames the political landscape as “post-constitutional,” asserting that the rules of governance have already collapsed under the weight of bureaucratic self-interest.
Notably, Carlson’s rhetoric has been shifting for months. Since being ousted from Fox News in April 2023, he has pivoted toward anti-institutional narratives, embracing populist themes more akin to Steve Bannon than traditional GOP figures. His interviews with global outliers like Viktor Orbán and Vladimir Putin underscore this repositioning.
His newsletter’s closure also reflects broader media strategy. Carlson is reportedly building a new platform for his content, separate from legacy news gatekeepers, potentially mirroring the model pioneered by figures like Joe Rogan or Glenn Greenwald.
End of Alliance, Start of Rebellion
What emerges is not just a rift between Carlson and Trump but a public detonation of the conservative consensus. Carlson’s critique could fracture MAGA-aligned audiences already splintered by indictments, electoral disappointments, and internecine fights. His parting shot declares that Trump, like his enemies, ultimately served the system he claimed to oppose.
As the 2024 campaign intensifies, Carlson’s voice may grow louder—not from within, but from the perimeter, armed with the same bombast that once made him the most-watched man on cable news.
