Tucker Carlson has positioned himself as the Trump administration’s most prominent critic on the right, but in a contest with President Trump, polling shows it’s not even close.
A YouGov poll released Thursday showed that 77% of Republicans have a favorable view of Mr. Trump, versus 16% who hold an unfavorable view, giving him a net favorability rating of 61%.
The same poll, conducted for the University of Massachusetts at Lowell’s Center for Public Opinion, gave Mr. Carlson a net GOP favorability rating of 7%, with 31% of Republicans holding a favorable view and 24% viewing him unfavorably.
Fifteen percent of respondents had never heard of Mr. Carlson, who launched a successful podcast career after being fired from the Fox News Channel in 2023, while just 1% had never heard of Mr. Trump.
The online poll was conducted March 26-30, before Mr. Trump launched his most scathing attack yet at Mr. Carlson and three other popular right-wing media personalities over their vociferous opposition to U.S. military strikes on Iran.
“I know why Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones have all been fighting me for years, especially by the fact that they think it is wonderful for Iran, the Number One State Sponsor of Terror, to have a Nuclear Weapon — Because they have one thing in common, Low IQs,” said Mr. Trump in a Thursday post on his Truth Social account.
He said they no longer appear on television “because nobody cares about them, they’re NUT JOBS, TROUBLEMAKERS, and will say anything necessary for some ‘free’ and cheap publicity.”
The onslaught drew attention to the widening rift between his administration and the podcast figures, who have turned on the president over his support for Israel and the military offensive aimed at preventing a nuclear Iran.
Only one of the four is a regular visitor at the White House, however, and that’s Mr. Carlson, who often denounces the administration on issues related to national security and foreign policy despite his friendship with Vice President J.D. Vance.
Mr. Trump has previously called Mr. Carlson “kooky” and a “low IQ person,” but he raised the volume in his latest blast.
The president said Mr. Carlson “couldn’t even finish College, he was a broken man when he got fired from Fox, and he’s never been the same — Perhaps he should see a good psychiatrist!”
Days earlier, he told the New York Post that Mr. Carlson calls him “all the time,” but “I don’t respond to his calls.”
“I don’t deal with him,” Mr. Trump said. “I like dealing with smart people, not fools.”
The Tucker Carlson Network responded Friday by releasing a line of ballcaps with the logo “Low IQ.”
“Rep your Tucker Carlson pride with our latest merch, inspired by our president’s latest feedback,” said the network in a press release, entitled, “Thank you, Mr. President.”
Ms. Owens responded Thursday on X: “It may be time to put Grandpa up in a home.”
BREAKING: Even CNN admits Donald Trump is CRUSHING Tucker Carlson in net favorability among Republicans.
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) April 10, 2026
“They choose Trump basically every single time.” pic.twitter.com/u3E0stieQb
The UMass Lowell poll also found self-identified conservatives gave Mr. Trump a net favorability rating of 60%, versus 8% for Mr. Carlson.
Meghan McCain, host of the right-of-center Citizen McCain podcast, said she wasn’t surprised.
“I don’t know how every single podcaster and influencer hasn’t realized by this time that republicans will choose Trump over them – absolutely every single time,” she said on X.
The poll of 1,000 U.S. adults has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.05 percentage points.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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