Global Conservatism: Tucker Carlson’s Flirtations with Eccentric Autocrats

via @TuckerCarlson on x.com

He’s leather jacket toting, Murray Rothbard, Milton Friedman, and Robert Lucas quoting (Nicas 2023). It’s not every day that a liberal-libertarian, anarcho-capitalist economist, who also happens to be the eccentric far-right, anti-establishment front-runner of Argentina’s upcoming presidential contest catches the attention of the international press, but Javier Milei appears to be that perfect storm (Kahn 2023). Even the most seasoned of journalists have to restrain themselves from expending too many column inches on his five cloned English Mastiffs and their progenitor, Conan, with whom, a recent biography states, Milei “claims to communicate with in the afterlife” (Kahn 2023). 

This whirlwind of editorial attention comes alongside Milei’s slight edge in polling before the upcoming presidential contest. Leering below the surface of Milei’s widely discussed idiosyncrasies are a slate of far-right, populist policies, including transitioning the Argentinian economy to the dollar to curb inflation, cutting public spending, and eliminating the Central Bank (Kahn 2023). Although these policies are particularly extreme, and unusual for the region (let alone any country), they are grounded in dire economic realities: the plummeting value of the Argentinian Peso, an inflation rate which exceeds 100%, and a national debt sitting at 85% of her annual GDP, all coalescing into recurring economic crises with the result being “one out of every four Argentinians live in poverty” (Kahn 2023). 

Milei’s approach to social policies bears a striking similarity to Vladimir Putin's repudiation of liberalism; he’s all about opposing “immigration, multiculturalism and gender politics” (The Economist 2019). In fact, if one digs deeper, Milei begins to look shockingly inauthentic: his rejection of feminism and equality politics is ostensibly a tampered down version of Hungary’s far-right Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, who has taken hard stances on “LGBTQ issues” and rejects “liberal pluralism” (Hajdari 2023). His recent downplaying of Argentina’s period of military rule, moreover, takes a page from disgraced coup-leader and former Brazilian President, Jair Bolsanaro’s playbook. Javier Milei, observed in a microcosm, illustrates the playbook of the new global right, while “Conservatism is pragmatic… the new right is zealous, ideological and cavalier with the truth” (The Economist 2019). 

Fostering Fealty: Or Flirting with Friendship?  

In addition to overarching political similarities, what links Javier Milei to Viktor Orbán, Jair Bolsanaro, or even Donald Trump? Tucker Carlson. In September 2023, Carlson continued to flex his muscle as a thought leader of a growing faux-conservative, right-wing base by interviewing Milei (Kahn 2023). Their interview ranged from bashing social justice policies–a convenient misnomer for abortion rights, climate change, and LGBTQ rights–to attacking the “Argentinian Ministry of Women, and even the Pope and the Catholic Church” (Kahn 2023). Throughout his campaign, Milei–embracing a Trumpian rhetoric–has painted these groups as socialists, allowing him to fold in these attacks with a more popular argument that “Argentina’s embrace of socialism had bred poverty, aesthetic ugliness and even violence” (Kahn 2023). These interviews mutually benefit Carlson and his various guests, raising their respective public profiles, and more broadly fostering “collaboration among conservative movements all around the globe” (Kahn 2023). 

With the growing erosion of the center-right in Western Europe, it appears that the global right wing is increasingly venturing “straight to populism without even trying conservatism” (The Economist 2019). Rather than approaching change with caution, the global right seeks victory by highlighting popular discontent with the status quo: “they are pessimists and reactionaries” (The Economist 2019). In his role as a thought leader, Carlson is helping to clarify a relatively ubiquitous “friend-enemy distinction,” in turn supporting “a rise of right-wing internationalism that we haven’t really seen since the Second World War” (Kahn 2023). For Carlson, his flirtation with populism began with embracing “an unsentimental form of tribalism: a belief that, in a cruel and confusing world, no virtue is more important than loyalty to one’s family and friends” and quickly escalated to becoming the face of “the feral online culture that nurtures Trump’s most inflammatory supporters” (Sanneh 2017). As a champion of the straw man, Carlson’s approach during the Trump-Era was a knock-out soundbite: “you get some poor little columnist from the Daily Oregonian who said Trump was Hitler, and you beat the shit out of him for ten minutes” (Sanneh 2017). 

Nonetheless, Carlson is nothing more than a high-profile reflection of an increasing trend among American Conservatives: cultivating ideological alignment across the globe. Hungary, which Orbán has proclaimed is the “bastion of conservative Christian values in Europe,” has now hosted two Conservative Political Action Conferences (CPAC), featuring guests from across the European far-right (Hajdari 2023). American conservatives' attempt to intensify ties to Orbán’s autocratic government has made him the “symbol of the conservative Zeitgeist,” while giving the country a “significant soft power influence in ultra-conservative circles in the Western world” (Hajdari 2023). Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), who spoke a day after Orbán at the Texas-hosted 2022 CPAC, also addressed the Spanish far-right party Vox, saying: “we all face the same challenges, including a bold and global left, that seeks to tear down cherished national and religious institutions” (Mudde 2021). 

Although the ties between global far-right networks and American conservatives have increasingly become mainstream, this apparent solidarity reflects a degree of shortsightedness, especially given that “the US does not play a leading role in these networks” (Mudde 2021). As such, rather than shaping the culture, American Conservatives have attempted to ride on the coattails of preexisting far-right networks to gain intellectual legitimization and domestic support. Nonetheless, maintaining this affiliation only serves to normalize the increasingly anti-democratic tactics employed by these groups, as seen by Orbán’s vicious hold on to power through “control of Hungary’s media and democratic institutions” in his fourth consecutive term (Sanneh 2017). The spillover effect is only beginning to form, as far-right groups such as Turning Point USA (TPUSA) have utilized their campus-based network to create a watch list of “left-leaning faculty” who, according to their website, “discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom” (Stone 2021; professorwatchlist.org). Ultimately, although neither Carlson nor Milei–whose ascension is still to be decided by the Argentinian people (Franco 2023)–are responsible for the apparent growth in far-right populist movements, they are helping to shape an international agenda, grounded in an overarching values-based alignment. 

References

E. Franco, Marina. 2023. “Far-Right Candidate Leads Polls ahead of Argentina’s Presidential Election.” Axios. October 19, 2023. https://www.axios.com/2023/10/19/javier-milei-argentina-presidential-elections.

Hajdari, Una. 2023. “Hungary Hosts Event to Rally Global Far-Right.” Euronews. May 4, 2023. https://www.euronews.com/2023/05/04/hungary-hosts-european-cpac-event-in-hopes-of-rallying-global-far-right.

Kahn, Gretel. 2023. “When Tucker Carlson Met Javier Milei: Why the US Right-Wing Pundit Interviewed the Eccentric Frontrunner of Argentina’s Election | Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.” Reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk. Reuters Institute. October 18, 2023. https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/when-tucker-carlson-met-javier-milei-why-us-right-wing-pundit-interviewed-eccentric.

Mudde, Cas. 2021. “Surprised to See US Republicans Cozying up to the European Far Right? Don’t Be.” The Guardian, October 15, 2021, sec. Opinion. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/oct/15/us-republicans-european-far-right.

Nicas, Jack. 2023. “The 5 Clones in Argentina’s Election.” The New York Times. The New York Times. October 19, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/19/world/americas/argentina-election-javier-milei.html.

“Professor Watchlist.” n.d. Professor Watchlist. https://www.professorwatchlist.org/.

Sanneh, Kelefa. 2017. “Tucker Carlson’s Fighting Words.” The New Yorker. April 3, 2017. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/10/tucker-carlsons-fighting-words.

Stone, Peter. 2021. “Money and Misinformation: How Turning Point USA Became a Formidable Pro-Trump Force.” The Guardian. October 23, 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/23/turning-point-rightwing-youth-group-critics-tactics.

“The Global Crisis in Conservatism.” 2019. The Economist. July 4, 2019. https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/07/04/the-global-crisis-in-conservatism.