OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Tucker Carlson’s primetime show on Fox News has smashed another key barrier. AdWeek published the viewership results for cable news shows this week and Carlson remained at number one on Tuesday night.
In the 8 p.m. ET time slot, “Tucker Carlson Tonight” brought in a whopping 3.009 million total viewers. In the same time slot, CNN’s Anderson Cooper had 730,000 and MSNBC’s Chris Hayes at 1.304 million total viewers.
Carlson made headlines last week when he tore into Democrat California Rep. Adam Schiff after he spent years pushing false and uncorroborated Trump-Russia collusion theories.
Carlson recently reminded everyone about Schiff pushing the “elaborate and intentional” Russia hoax that alleged that President Donald Trump and his campaign colluded with Russia to help him win the 2016 presidential election.
Carlson said that Schiff should resign, especially given he claimed he had seen evidence proving Trump colluded with Russia.
“Schiff knew there was nothing substantial at the core of the Russian collusion story. At the very center, it was hollow, it was a sham. But Schiff never suggested this in public. Instead, he did the opposite. He spent years on television telling you it was totally real, shut up. Every single time was a lie. If you were following this closely at the time, you might have suspected this. Schiff never produced any of this so-called evidence. He just asserted its existence,” Carlson said.
“Adam Schiff is a sociopath. He will do or say anything to achieve power. He is unfit to hold office. He should resign. At the time, Republicans controlled both houses of Congress and every single committee,” Carlson said. “They had the power to expose this hoax and to shut it down. But they did not.”
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Schiff, for his part, is not planning to resign.
He announced last month that will be running for the U.S. Senate seat in California Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
“Our democracy is at great risk. Because GOP leaders care more about power than anything else. And because our economy isn’t working for millions of hard-working Americans. We’re in the fight of our lives—a fight I’m ready to lead as California’s next U.S. Senator,” he said in a tweet.
“We’re in the fight of our lives—a fight I’m ready to lead as California’s next U.S. Senator,” he said in a video shared to Twitter in which he made his announcement.
He shared a montage of himself being attacked by former President Donald Trump and various Fox News personalities.
He then bragged about impeaching former President Trump and showed a montage of left-wing personalities praising the job he did.
Our democracy is at great risk. Because GOP leaders care more about power than anything else.
And because our economy isn’t working for millions of hard working Americans.
We’re in the fight of our lives—a fight I’m ready to lead as California’s next U.S. Senator. pic.twitter.com/H0Pa0EhhMu
— Adam Schiff (@AdamSchiff) January 26, 2023
“The Senate is where many of these fights over the future of our democracy take place,” he said in an interview with The Los Angeles Times prior to his campaign launch. “Some of Donald Trump’s biggest enablers are in the Senate. And I think that is where I can most effectively champion our democratic institutions.”
“I have just tremendous respect for (Sen. Feinstein) and — more than respect — admiration, and affection,” he said, mentioning that he informed her of his decision before making the announcement.
“I think she will make her own decision about an announcement when she feels ready to do so,” the representative said. “She’s earned that right, and I certainly respect her to do that whenever she determines the time is right.”
But he already has a challenger for the spot as his fellow Democrat announced her intentions to campaign for Senate before he did.
Democrat Rep. Katie Porter has announced she will also be running for Feinstein’s seat.
“California needs a warrior in the Senate—to stand up to special interests, fight the dangerous imbalance in our economy, and hold so-called leaders like Mitch McConnell accountable for rigging our democracy. Today, I’m proud to announce my candidacy for the U.S. Senate in 2024,” she said in a tweet with her announcement video.
