Fox News Becomes Watters’ World

Tucker's replacement will change the network's tone. Here's what that means.

Jesse Watters may not be a popular figure online, but he was the obvious choice to replace Tucker Carlson. The Bill O’Reilly protege is now the face of Fox News. What does the new primetime lineup mean for the right? Let’s find out. 

The new Fox is going to be a very different beast from its Tucker-led days. Tucker Carlson Tonight had an apocalyptic tone that constantly stressed the threats facing America. Those threats included the Great Replacement, groomers taking over schools, mass surveillance, political persecution of dissidents, and nuclear war. His monologues were peppered with jokes that came at the expense of his enemies. Snarky put downs and creative personal attacks made the audience laugh, but they didn't add much levity. Tucker wanted the viewer to know that the people in charge could destroy the country they love–and that they are downright evil.

Tucker Carlson Tonight was not a lighthearted show. It was a show meant to influence people’s minds, and it succeeded. Tucker's coverage set the agenda for conservatives. Politicians and commentators followed his cues. Tucker drove Republican opposition to the Ukraine war, single handedly made the Great Replacement a mainstream issue, and made skepticism about January 6th acceptable.

Tucker was the most influential voice on the American Right. What he said mattered.

Jesse Watters is a different breed. He rose through the ranks as a Bill O'Reilly producer where he made his name through interviews with drunken spring breakers. Watters’ World was always funny and light, and his 7PM show has kept that tone. 

Watters is frivolous, not apocalyptic. His monologues are light. Jesse Watters Primetime doesn't describe dire threats posed by evil liberal villains. Crazy leftists, yes, but Watters encourages laughing at them. His monologues make his audience chuckle, not feel under siege. They are tongue-in-cheek rants on the dangers of soccer or how we need hotter politicians. Whatever the topic, the tone remains the same. America has some problems and some bad leaders, but the country is on solid foundations. Don’t get too worked up about political stuff, just laugh at the nonsense with frat boy Jesse. 

His guests send that same message. They’re either Fox News regulars who laugh at the goofy leftists or they’re goofy leftists themselves. Watters will never deliver an urgent monologue on how Democrats want to replace the American citizenry and hate white people. That’s too heavy for his show. Sure, Watters will note some Democrats hate whites and love immigrants, but it’s not worth getting yourself worked up over. America will be just fine. It never gets too serious in Watters’ World. It’s all good fun

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Nobody takes Watters seriously–at least, not in the sense that they took Tucker seriously. A Tucker monologue could shape a week’s news cycle. Liberal media outlets would republish Tucker's rants with horror. Republican politicians repeated his points to distinguish themselves from leadership. Conservatives amplified his message across social media, while reporters wrote dozens of articles analyzing what a Tucker broadcast said about conservatism. 

Watters is not a thought leader. He takes his cues from other commentators. To the extent that he covered heavier topics, he followed Tucker's lead, often repeating themes Tucker covered in his opening monologues the night before. The media is not going to cover Jesse's facetious rants with pearl clutching outrage. Conservatives aren’t going to change their opinions or alter their rhetoric to appease Watters. He will have zero influence on congressional or presidential politics. Watters is here to entertain Fox’s audience, not shape the future of the country.

And the thing is, the Watters World formula will probably work. With Greg Gutfeld at 10PM (Fox's late-night “comedy” star) and the number one rated show The Five (which stars Watters and Gutfeld), Fox's light tone can easily win back viewers. Ratings suffered a massive decline after Tucker's exit, but they’ve recovered significantly in recent weeks. Watters’s ratings will crush his competition at the rival networks and will approach Tucker's old ballpark. The boomers will watch whatever Fox puts in front of them. There are no stars to draw them away to Newsmax and they lack the will to figure out how to watch an online program. They’re going to stick to what they know–and that’s Fox. They stuck with Fox when Tucker replaced Bill O’Reilly. They’ll do the same for Tucker’s replacement. 

The new, friendlier Fox will widen the gap between the mainstream Right and the online Right. Fox will no longer warn about the end of America. It will be a feelgood network that tells its audience that everything is alright. The online Right will be more like Tucker, warning our civilization could end at any moment. Tucker will still have a large audience, but he won’t command the level of influence he previously had.  Fox will shape the views of ordinary conservatives more than Tucker's next endeavor. 

Many ordinary conservatives know in their hearts that there’s something deeply wrong with this country. But their favorite news source will tell them it’s all fine. Just lighten up and have a good laugh at this nutty professor trying to argue with Jesse Watters–and don’t drink Bud Light. 

That’s the spirit of new Fox–and that spirit could lead the Right. It’s Watters’ World now, we’re just living in it.