I think some of these commentators are searching the niche. There’s too much competition in the long-time conservative talkers and maga is pretty much set—the well is shallow at this point.
I also suspect loyal talk show patrons have waned with the loss of Rush.
I believe conspiracy angles and some of the other outlying pockets shimmer with potential. They’re hoping that by exploiting fractures and such they’ll find an audience to mine. My opinion of it and we know what they say about opinions. :p
I agree with your assessment. The mainstream conservative movement lacks what it had with William Buckley from the late 1950s to the turn of the century and Rush Limbaugh from 1990 to 2020: an effective voice that can drive the rank and file away from the fringes of conspiracism, white supremacy, and libertarianism. No one among the conservative talkers filled the void after Limbaugh's death, and frankly, they are aging.
You must remember that conservative talk radio was largely a Boomer phenomenon, and to some extent, the Silent Generation. Tucker Carlson, Joe Rogan, and Alex Jones are Gen. X, a group that was squeezed between the larger Millennial and Boomer contingents. Candace Owens is a Millennial (born 1989). The late Charlie Kirk, born in 1993, who had the greatest chance of filling the Buckley/Limbaugh role, was a Millennial as well.
It is worthy to note that the recent right wing celebrity is Nick Fuentes, who is Gen. Z. The problem is that as the Left grows more extreme and as the Biden Administration and the Deep State were heavy handed between 2021 and 2024, it is difficult to pull people away from conspiracy theories and toward interventionist foreign policy and pro-business economic policy. That is why Fuentes has been so successful. Railing against the groypers' hostility to Israel and supporting the Trump Administration unconditionally will not swing them toward Buckley/Limbaugh type conservatism.