A recent publication attempting to unravel the enigma of Tucker Carlson’s remarkable rise within the far-right sphere has stumbled in its debut week. “Hated By All the Right People: Tucker Carlson and the Unraveling of the Conservative Mind” managed to sell a mere 928 copies since its launch on January 27, as revealed by early sales figures reported by Status.
In comparison, Olivia Nuzzi’s “American Canto,” which hit the shelves in December, only slightly outperformed with 1,165 copies sold. Nuzzi’s work, however, faced harsh reviews, branded as “aggressively awful” by The Washington Post and “regrettably self-serious” by The New York Times, perhaps impacting its reception.
The tepid reception of “Hated By All the Right People” has seen it languish at #10,030 on Amazon’s Bestseller list, far removed from the coveted Top 50, despite a significant promotional push. This book endeavors to dissect Carlson’s journey from a Fox News journalist to a prominent figurehead of the MAGA movement.
Authored by Jason Zengerle, a journalist associated with the liberal-leaning New Yorker, the book is published under Crooked Media Reads. This imprint is an initiative by the Pod Save America team, consisting of Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor, aimed at delivering politically engaging content. However, the book’s initial lackluster performance suggests it hasn’t yet resonated with its intended audience.
The book was heavily publicized, and seeks to explain how the former Fox News journalist became a megastar of the MAGA right.
It was written by a reporter from the liberal New Yorker, Jason Zengerle. It also comes from Crooked Media Reads, a publishing imprint created by Pod Save America hosts Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor.
Zengerle used Carlson as a reporting source in the 1990s, he writes.
Carlson, back then, was a ‘gifted young writer,’ according the author. He goes on to track what he framed as Carlson’s shift to a ‘noxious talking head’.
‘Hated By All the Right People: Tucker Carlson and the Unraveling of the Conservative Mind’ had a pathetic debut in terms of sales last week
The book, which is not a memoir, sold just 928 copies during the week of January 27, early data has shown
A synopsis states: ‘Carlson’s evolution tells the larger story of how the right has radicalized and taken the media with it.’
Zengerle does not explain what led to Carlson’s firing from Fox News in 2023, when he was at the peak of his network success.
In the years since, though, Carlson has carved out a sizable spot in what’s known as ‘new media’, with his podcast and YouTube show rocketing up the charts. On the latter platform, Carlson, 56, has more than five million subscribers.
The host earned ire last year for welcoming Nick Fuentes and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to his show.
Zengerle’s book follows Carlson’s path as an adult journalist, from a writer at the right-leaning Weekly Standard in 90s; to a failed host on left-leaning CNN, PBS, and MSNBC; to a contestant on Dancing With the Stars; to today.
‘[W]hether Carlson really believes the awful things that he says,’ Zengerle writes at a point, ‘matters less than that he says them at all.’
Other claims in the book include Carlson disliked Trump during his time at Fox and even ignored some of the then-one term presidents phone-calls.
Carlson ‘confided to multiple people’ his belief that Trump, or some intelligence service, was recording phone calls he did answer to later use against him, Zengerle says.
The book was authored by New Yorker reporter Jason Zengerle, who he regularly used Carlson as a source in the mid-90s
It also comes from Crooked Media Reads, a publishing imprint created by Pod Save America hosts Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor – three former Barack Obama staffers
Instead, Carlson used his platform – Tucker Carlson Tonight – to speak to, and influence, Trump directly, Zengerle writes.
Carlson met with Trump in the Oval office just last month – the second time he was seen at the White House in a matter of weeks.
The Daily Mail contacted the White House for more information.
