Left: Janos Kummer/Getty Images, Right: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogu

• Tucker Carlson announced on Tuesday that he would bring his show to Twitter. 
• The host was fired last month from Fox News shortly after it settled Dominion’s defamation lawsuit.
• The median age of Twitter users is much younger than that of Fox News viewers, reports show. 

Tucker Carlson is officially moving to Twitter, but whether his loyal — and older — Fox fans will follow is yet to be seen.

In leaked behind-the-scenes tapes of his former show “Tucker Carlson Tonight”  released by watchdog group Media Matters for America, the 53-year-old host made sexist comments, promoted well-known misogynist influencer Andrew Tate, and called his fans “post-menopausal.”

Though crudely made, the comments reflect that Fox News brings in an older demographic. But for a former TV host looking to build a devoted following on Twitter on par with the one he had at Fox, that may be a problem. 

Carlson, who was ousted on April 24, announced Tuesday that he was bringing a “new version” of his show to Twitter. In a video, Carlson touted the social media platform to his seven million followers as a place of “free speech.” 

 A tweet of Carlson’s announcement has nearly half a million likes, and conservative politicians and influencers, from Lauren Boebert to Kid Rock, celebrated the move.

However, Carlson is entering a new market with an age demographic that does not reflect that of his previous viewers. Back at Fox News, the median age of an average viewer was 65, according to Nielsen ratings.

A Pew Research study shows a stark difference: The median age of a Twitter user is 40.

There’s also a difference in the political leanings of Twitter. Carlson’s brand is built on right-wing and white supremacist talking points, but nearly 70% of Twitter’s most active users are left-leaning, according to a 2020 study from the Pew Research Center. 

Carlson, however, may still be able to find his audience now that Twitter is in the hands of Elon Musk, who acquired the platform in late 2022. 

Musk insists that his politics are at the center and even encouraged content creators “from the left” to follow in Carlson’s footsteps and create their own shows on Twitter. However, after Musk’s reinstatement of many previously banned conservative accounts, the suspension of left-wing accounts, and the promotion of conspiracy theories and white supremacist talking points, experts previously told Insider that it’s clear that Musk is using the platform to amplify right-wing and extremist viewpoints. 

“I think he’s intentionally empowering right-wing extremists,” J.M. Berger, a researcher on extremism on social media like Twitter, told Insider in December. “Any argument that he’s trying to empower the center is patently bullshit and should be treated as such.”

Representatives for Carlson did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

(NewsNation) — A former aide for GOP Rep. George Santos told NewsNation that he did not expect the embattled congressman to step down after criminal charges were filed against him, saying he would likely have to be pushed out.

“The reality is that he’s not going to resign because he can’t afford to resign,” Derek Myers said in part on NewsNation’s CUOMO. “The man has no money elsewhere. This is his sole source of income. He had no income prior, the loan he allegedly gave to his campaign was not a legal loan. The man is not going to resign from Congress, he can’t afford it. He’s going to have to wait until he is pushed out.”

You can watch part of the interview with NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo in the player above.

Myers’ comments came hours after federal prosecutors filed criminal charges against Santos. The specific charges have not been revealed as they remain under seal, though Santos could appear in federal court as soon as Wednesday morning. Spokespersons for the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York have declined to comment.

Myers told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo the FBI approached him asking for information about the congressman in what he called an attempt “to infiltrate” Santos’ inner circle after he joined Congress.

Unverifiable claims ranging from his work history, charitable contributions, education and family background came to light shortly after Santos, R-N.Y., won his House seat in November 2022. Santos admitted in December to many of the lies, saying his “sins” were “embellishing” his resume. The freshman congressman-elect refused to step down from his elected seat at the time.

Myers also doubled down on claims the congressman made advances toward him in the workplace and inappropriately touched him. Myers said when he talked to the FBI, it was mostly pertaining to the sexual allegations, which are under investigation.

“The Ethics Committee is still looking into that,” Myers said. “The speaker is not going to have a choice now but to address these allegations and these criminal charges when they are handed down.”

Santos denied the allegation.

“It’s comical,” Santos said to CBS News in February. “Let me make it clear, if there was remotely any part of that that were true, he should’ve led with that and not begged for a job that we decided to pull from him for being accused of doing exactly what he did to us.”

Santos has removed himself from committee assignments amid backlash, but has refused calls to step down. He launched a reelection campaign for the office he currently holds, stating that he had a “clean conscience,” and that he would not have run again if he thought he had committed a crime.

An expert attorney said it was important to separate the Ethics investigation and the criminal charges.

“As far as the witness who just called in, he is talking about sexual harassment, other stuff that may not be criminal, it could be a violation of internal rules, we will wait and see about that,” David Aronberg said. “The key problem facing Santos is the money trial and I think that’s where they will get him as soon as tomorrow.”

Besides questions about his life story, Santos’ campaign spending stoked scrutiny because of unusual payments for travel, lodging and other items. In his filings with the FEC, Santos initially said he loaned his campaign and related political action committees more than $750,000 — money he claimed came from a family company.

However, in a financial disclosure statement filed with the clerk of the U.S. House in 2020, Santos said he had no assets and an annual income of $55,000.

NewsNation’s Tulsi Kamath and Andrew Dorn contributed to this report. The Associated Press also contributed to this report.