Opinion | Why TV troll Jesse Watters is a strange choice to replace Tucker Carlson

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'Watters is effectively an internet troll who happens to be on TV,' writes paulwaldman1

of misogyny, homophobia, racism and conspiracy theories that Fox viewers expect. But his frat-guy presentation cuts a less distinct figure than Carlson or O’Reilly. And while he jokes, he’s not trying to do genuine comedy like Greg Gutfield . Unlike Carlson, he lacks a well-defined ideological agenda, apart from looking for ways to “own the libs” on whatever the news of the day is.

There may be plenty of Fox viewers who will happily tune in to that for an hour each night. But Watters is effectively an internet troll who happens to be on TV. If you want a detailed breakdown of the latest right-wing obsession, he’s not the one you’d seek out; if on the other hand you merely want someone to smirk while delivering a zinger about Hunter Biden, Watters is your man.

Those marching orders may not have changed, but as the audience and the things that make it mad evolve, Fox has to evolve with them. As the, the network may tell its viewers what to fear, but its executives live in fear of those viewers. The viewers must be given what they yearn for, and if they aren’t, they could decamp to one of Fox’s low-rent competitors like Newsmax or One America News.

In the end, that endless pursuit of outrage is what matters most. The network constantly asks what will get its viewers upset. During the last election it was crime, today it’s transgender teens, and tomorrow it will be something else. Jesse Watters probably won’t provide anything new and compelling, but he’ll give them whatever Fox thinks they want.

 

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