In a different era, Tucker Carlson used to post pictures during his Fox News broadcasts of Chris Cuomo working out, then poke fun at his one-time CNN rival. Now the two personalities are going to hash things out.
Cuomo traveled to Florida for a one-on-one sit-down conversation with Carlson that is expected to air Monday, March 11 at 8 p.m. eastern on Nexstar Media’s NewsNation. The two have a lot to discuss. They were both top draws in cable-news primetime during the presidency of Donald Trump. And both have been trying to make their way in a new era after each was ousted by their former media employers. Cuomo joined NewsNation to lead a primetime show in 2022, while Carlson has set up his own media company and broadcasts programs that are seen on the social-media hub X.
Cuomo, who has already spoken with Carlson, pressed him on his exit from Fox News, the criticism he received for his recent interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin, his views on the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2020, and more. The exchange marks Carlson’s first national TV interview since he exited Fox News in April of 2023.
There are some critics who may question the value of giving Carlson airtime. In recent months, the opinion host has come under fire for traveling to Russia to interview Putin just days before the death of activist Alexei Navalny and for giving time to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
Cuomo has a long history of trying to sit down with newsmakers who are under scrutiny or out of favor in public discourse. The anchor has long burnished a confrontational, “talk it out” brand of interviewing that made him, for a time, CNN’s most-watched primetime personality.
He sees his NewsNation program, “Cuomo,” as a platform where “we aren’t going to be telling you what other people are telling us,” he told PvNew in October of last year. “We want to go to get it for youfirst hand.”