Tucker Carlson lost his platform but crucially he still has Donald Trump’s ear

Jettisoned by Fox News, the rightwing gadfly has a reduced audience but was still influential in the rise of JD Vance

In spring of last year, Tucker Carlson was on the outs.

The former prime-time host had been booted from the Fox News channel where he had made his name. Ensconced in his remote Maine home, Carlson launched a new show on what was then called Twitter, but as his viewer figures quickly plunged, consensus opinion was that Carlson's position as a news and political tastemaker, someone capable of creating Republican stars and taking down careers, was over.