Trump’s Power Circle of Supporters Is Starting To Crack (3 of 3)

Tucker Carlson

No media figure did more to shape Trump’s political narrative than Tucker Carlson. As the face of primetime conservative commentary, Carlson amplified many of Trump’s policies and grievances to millions of nightly viewers. But since leaving Fox News, his distance from Trump’s orbit has been increasingly clear.

Carlson has publicly criticized the administration’s foreign policy and accused Trump of being a politician that leads with grievances, instead of actual strategic direction. He has warned that the movement risks becoming a “cult of personality” that has lost touch with its original message. In his newer independent broadcasts, Carlson has turned his focus toward systemic reform and national cohesion, two ideas he implies Trump has abandoned.

The split between the two has been subtle but vastly significant. Carlson’s decision to reframe his platform away from Trump’s agenda suggests that even his ideological allies are recalibrating for a post-Trump conservative future.

The Crumbling of a Carefully Built System of Support

For years, Trump’s influence rested not just on his political prowess, but on the cultural echoes created by influential commentators and figures like Rogan, Owens, Musk, and Carlson. Each reached different and distinct audiences, like tech innovators, independents, young conservatives, and mainstream populists. This formed a connective tissue of sorts that kept Trump’s antics and power alive in Washington.

Now that network is fading. What began as isolated criticism has grown into a drift from Trump’s ideologies. All of these prominent figures have different complaints about Trump, but together they form a formidable perspective that reverberates through the cultural consciousness of America.

Still, Trump’s core base remains loyal. His rallies still draw massive crowds, his fundraising arm continues to surge, and many Republicans still see no viable alternative. But the public unraveling of high-profile relationships does reveal a deeper truth: even with the movement he created, there is growing fatigue around the Trump brand and his antics.

As his former allies carve out new lanes in media, politics and tech, and increasingly distance themselves from him, Trump’s greatest challenge may not come from his biggest opponents but from the former allies who are now jumping off the Trump bandwagon.