The Clear Winner of the Debate

The moment I learned that Tucker Carlson was going to be releasing his interview during the GOP debate, I knew where most of America’s attention would go. 

It was pretty obvious that Trump was going to be, at least socially, center stage during the GOP debates without even appearing on the stage. No one should be surprised by this. He’s not just the GOP frontrunner by a mile, he’s also the most talked about man in America due to equal parts fame and infamy. 

He’s the embodiment of a political thriller. The man is running for President while fending off charges and indictments left and right from political enemies simply using his fame to inflate their own. His time as head of the nation comes with a lot of baggage that people want to hear him talk about, and if he does win the next election then this time…it’s personal. 

Cut to the “Trump: Parabellum” title. 

That interest is bearing fruit in the numbers. Tucker Carlson’s interview with Trump on X has a staggering 194.7 million views as of this writing. That’s likely to go up even further as the day progresses. 

Ep. 19 Debate Night with Donald J Trump pic.twitter.com/ayPfII48CO

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) August 24, 2023

Trump, who’s no stranger to getting ratings, knew this would get viral traction on the internet to the point where it would beat Fox News. 

“We’ll get bigger ratings using this crazy forum that you are using than probably the debate,” Trump said during the interview.

Right now, there’s a lot of discussion about who won the debates and many people are handing the W to the candidate they walked in supporting. There’s some excellent analysis of the debates on the front page of RedState right now from a myriad of perspectives. 

But there’s clearly one winner here, and that’s Tucker Carlson. 

Taking a step back and looking at the entire day, it was pretty clear that Carlson didn’t just interview Trump to interview Trump. The man wanted to prove a point. 

It’s pretty clear there’s still some bad blood between him and Fox News. The sudden, unceremonious, and egregiously unfair firing hit Carlson and no one should blame him for feeling like he does about the network. A lot of people share his anger toward Fox News and that spite has severely damaged the network from its credibility to its ratings. 

Carlson releasing his Trump interview during the GOP debate was a move soaked in spite, but it also sent a very important message: “You couldn’t get Trump…I could. Hundreds of millions of people watched my interview…you won’t nearly approach that number. I was your greatest warrior…now I’ll be your greatest enemy.” 

It too is a thriller fit for theaters. 

Carlson wants to haunt Fox News, and he is. While every candidate set out to make their case, Carlson was the only one to actually accomplish a goal. 

But it should be understood that Carlson isn’t going to walk away with a flawless victory. Blows were dealt to him that night, and many of them were self-inflicted. Perhaps in his quest to embarrass Fox News, he fell short in the minds of many of his fans. 

As I said in my VIP piece, Carlson’s interview was a disappointing softball-fest. While it wasn’t uninteresting, many of the questions people have about Trump are still lingering in the air. It was pretty clear Trump didn’t want to talk about it, and Carlson didn’t seem all that interested in asking about them. 

Things like Trump’s answering for his reliance on Fauci and Operation Warp Speed. The people he hired falling short in terms of truly helping drain the swamp, and his revolving door of hirelings that don’t seem to have a very high opinion of him. 

As I said, even if you are a Trump supporter, hearing about these things from Trump himself would have been nice, but what we got had little substance. 

(READ: Trump’s Tucker Interview Could Ultimately Prove To Be an Issue for Him)

When you set out for revenge, dig two graves. 

Carlson certainly cut Fox News the night of the debates and split the crowd. Many vowed not to tune into the GOP debates out of spite or disinterest. They wanted to hear from Trump and had no interest in the others, and while the rating numbers for the GOP debate are still yet to come out, I’m pretty sure they’re not going to reach the height that Carlson’s interview with Trump did.

But despite this powerful duo coming together to win the day, both men played it too safe, and unwillingness to ask the hard questions of a man at the center of America’s attention will likely haunt Carlson. We know he’s capable of hard-hitting interviews with GOP candidates, with people saying afterward that if you can’t tolerate the chair across from Tucker then the one behind the Resolute Desk isn’t for you. 

But we didn’t get that Tucker, and that will ultimately dampen the excitement of many…for both men. 

But for now, Carlson clearly walked away with the win. He got what he wanted and he proved his point about his power over the network that betrayed him, and even proved that the individual can beat the corporation, especially in the land of journalism. 

However, Carlson now has a shadow of doubt cast over him, and he’s going to have to work to remove it before it fades his star.