Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson, and the Ego Problem in Conservative Media

When Former Fox Stars Play God

It’s getting hard to tell where journalism ends and self-worship begins. Watching Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson, and Matt Walsh lately, you’d think the fate of Western civilization hinged on whether they’re all still friends.

I used to listen to all three of them. Tucker was sharp when he cared about substance. Matt could still make a good point between the theatrics. And Megyn? She was my go-to for solid, unfiltered commentary. But lately, she’s fallen into the same trap the rest of them have: talking about each other instead of to the country.

“People on both sides are constantly screaming in my ear… demanding that I disavow – denounce – one of the other… It’s just not ever going to happen. Not ever.”@MattWalsh on the battle between Ben Shapiro and Tucker Carlson.

Watch and subscribe:https://t.co/YJPxz5Gu8d pic.twitter.com/LyRGmH1QHP

— The Megyn Kelly Show (@MegynKellyShow) November 4, 2025

When Megyn had Matt Walsh on her show this week, they eventually got around to the main topic, but not before spending a good chunk of time talking about Tucker. Or more specifically, about how wonderful Tucker is and how unfairly he has been treated. The whole thing felt less like a serious discussion and more like a reunion special for the Fox News Gods Who Walk Among Us.

Meanwhile, the rest of us are out here wondering when these people stopped doing the thing that made them worth listening to in the first place.

The Ex Fox Olympus

At one point, Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson were the sharp edge of conservative media. They were fearless in asking the questions others would not touch. But somewhere between leaving Fox and launching their own platforms, the mission changed. The camera became a mirror.

Now their podcasts sound less like journalism and more like sermons from the Church of the Disenchanted Elite. They rail against the establishment but have no problem acting like one.

Megyn still covers real topics that matter, especially when it comes to gender ideology and parental rights. She has done solid work exposing the madness that has crept into classrooms and culture. But what used to sound like courage now feels like commentary on repeat. She reports, she reacts, she moves on. No call to action. No push for change.

It is the curse of comfort. When your studio looks like a set from Architectural Digest and your show tops the charts, you can afford to treat outrage like a lifestyle brand. But for those of us watching the cultural freefall up close, that is not enough anymore.

Less Gossip, More Guts

To be fair, Megyn has built an empire on being the reasonable one. The polished one. The voice who can make rebellion sound respectable. That takes real talent. But rebellion, once branded, loses its edge.

I still think Megyn Kelly is whip smart. She is one of the few voices on the Right who can command attention without shouting. That is exactly why it is frustrating to watch her settle into comfort. She has the intellect and composure for leadership, and she could use that influence for more than the next viral clip.

I do not mind the podcasting. In fact, she is good at it. But her media presence could use more teeth. She already has Maureen Callahan covering pop culture and Link Lauren, who I enjoy, doing the same. Why not expand that circle and build something bolder under her new media company? Add more hosts who are willing to dig into cultural and political issues with conviction, especially on topics like gender ideology where Megyn has already proven herself strong and clear.

And maybe that is why her latest defense of Tucker fell flat. It was the kind of insular performance that reminds regular people why they stopped trusting the media in the first place. Because when journalists start protecting their friends instead of the truth, they become exactly what they used to fight against.

Pettiness or Real Issues?

Sometimes it seems to me that these new elitists cannot take sarcasm either. My God, stop splintering everyone into tiny groups. Are we not allowed to criticize our own anymore without being called low-IQ? Just because you question a portion of the right does not make you a Mamdani supporter or a white supremacist.

The same purity test mindset shows up in politics too.

And tell me where Marjorie Taylor Greene is wrong when she says Republicans are not getting our agenda done. She is catching a lot of flak lately, and some of it is deserved, but it is hard to name a single Republican politician who has done anything that truly matters. It is true what she said, but she is a Republican too, and that makes her part of the problem. You cannot rail against a system you refuse to change.

The difference is that, in politics as in media, talk has become the substitute for action. Conservatives keep winning microphones but losing momentum. We have the platforms, the votes, the slogans, but not the follow-through. While the Left moves policy, too many on the Right move podcasts.

And that is the real danger. The louder the voices get, the less they seem to say. The movement has turned into a contest for views instead of victories. The Right’s loudest figures are chasing clicks while the country they claim to defend keeps slipping further away.

The Elitist Circle

Here’s the thing: they’ve built a new media club. It’s just as exclusive and ego-driven as the one they left behind.

They call it “independent journalism,” but it feels more like a gated community. They sit behind expensive microphones, sipping from stainless-steel tumblers, explaining to America why the “real enemy” is anyone who criticizes their friends.

And another thing: they act like they invented this medium. Every time Megyn or Tucker waxes poetic about the “new media revolution,” I have to laugh. Podcasting has been around since before they made their first appearances on cable news. They didn’t pioneer it; they just arrived late, built fancier studios, and decided to crown themselves as the face of free speech.

Megyn Kelly: “Last month on [CNN’s] YouTube feed, they had 155M views and we were 147M… Just me and my six producers versus every single show on CNN… The month of November, I beat all of them.”pic.twitter.com/zE9kWxa5tI

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) November 5, 2025

It’s the same old TV ego wrapped in a podcast feed. The only difference is the lighting.

They’ve turned conservative commentary into a popularity contest. Who’s loyal? Who’s not? Who gets invited on whose show?

The irony is thick. They mock the Left for identity politics, yet spend half their airtime building a hierarchy based on personal loyalty. It is the influencer version of the country club, except the dress code is outrage and the initiation fee is a promo code.

I do not begrudge them success. I just miss the honesty. Megyn still believes she is speaking truth to power, but the tone has grown insulated. If she does not notice, she will drift into the same echo chamber she once escaped.

Meanwhile, in the Real World

While Megyn and Matt polish Tucker’s halo, the rest of America is clocking in, packing lunches, and handling the real work while the media class argues over microphones.

We don’t have the luxury of podcast wars. We’re not keeping score between conservative celebrities. Most of us are too busy living in the world their commentary is supposed to reflect.

That is the part they have forgotten. For people like me, listeners who used to tune in for truth, not tribe, it is disappointing.

When the microphone becomes a mirror, truth takes the back seat. And right now, conservative media is spending a little too much time looking at itself.

The Americanist View

Maybe that’s what this moment says most clearly: it’s not the Left destroying the credibility of conservative media. It’s the Right’s own obsession with status.

You can be independent without being isolated. You can be successful without being self-satisfied. But if the “Ex-Fox elite” want to stay relevant, they’ll have to remember what made them powerful wasn’t their friendship, it was their fearlessness.

Maybe the real problem is that everyone wants a platform, but no one wants a purpose. The microphone became a mirror, and too many fell in love with their own reflection. If Megyn, Tucker, and the rest want to lead again, they might start by turning the camera back toward the country instead of themselves.

Feature Image: Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons/Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons/edited in Canva Pro