Carlson elaborated on his counterintuitive views. He even seemed ready to walk back — at least a little — some of his inflammatory past statements about the cultural reasons for black poverty. “What I missed, what I think a lot of people missed, was that the economic system you’re living under affects your culture,” he told reporter Jane Coaston. “The reason I didn’t think of it before was because I was so blinded by this libertarian economic propaganda that I couldn’t get past my own assumptions about economics.”
Intriguingly, now that Carlson is speaking the truth, it’s progressive outlets and personalities who seem most willing to engage with his rather out-of-character commentary. (There were positive write-ups in the Atlantic and the above piece in Vox, as well as approving chatter on social media and thoughtful discussion elsewhere.) And while conservatives were quick to defend his less-than-fact-based scapegoating of feminism, they seem less eager to countenance his newly woke ideas.
That’s a shame. Carlson’s fiery new take should appeal to his traditional constituency, which purports to have an interest in issues of the family and social stability. But conservatives could also use this to finally connect with those market-critiquing progressives across the aisle — or at least to understand them. If even Tucker Carlson finally knows what time it is, it’s a sign that everyone should be checking their clocks.