Topline
Former primetime host Tucker Carlson accused the “American media” of not allowing debates on what he views as “big topics,” in his first public remarks after his sudden departure from Fox News earlier this week.
FILE PHOTO: In his first remarks since his exit from Fox, Tucker Carlson railed against the quality … [+] of debates in the American news media.
Key Facts
In a video shared on Twitter, Carlson made a series of vague comments about the quality of debate in the news media, but made no direct mention of his exit from Fox or what caused it.
Talking about stepping “outside the noise for a few days,” the former primetime host said he noticed how “unbelievably stupid most of the debates you see on television are.”
The controversial host—who has aired several conspiracy theories on his show—said many of the debates happening on television are “completely irrelevant” and most people won’t even remember them in five years.
Outlining what he believes are the big issues of the day, like “war, civil liberties, emerging science, demographic change, corporate power, natural resources,” Carlson alleged that debates on these issues are not permitted.
Carlson then said both political parties have “reached a consensus on what benefits them” and now they “actively collude” to shut down conversations.
Carlson ended his remarks by saying there are only some places left where “you still find Americans saying true things,” and told his viewers he would see them soon.
Key Background
Fox News announced Carlson’s exit from the network on Monday, in a move that appeared to surprise everyone. Carlson made no mention of his exit on his final broadcast on Friday evening and even said “We’ll be back” at the end, indicating he wasn’t aware it would be his last show on the network. The network itself was still promoting Carlson’s interview with GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy as late as Monday morning. While exact details remain unclear, reporting from several outlets suggests Carlson was fired by the network and the decision was made last Friday by Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott and Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch. Several controversial comments made by Carlson in private were revealed during the Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation case—which Fox agreed to settle for $787.5 million. Dual lawsuits against Fox News by a former producer of Carlson’s show—where he’s also named as a defendant—also heavily center around the alleged “toxic” work culture at his show.
Tangent
On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Carlson made derogatory and vulgar remarks about a senior executive at the network in private text messages. According to the report, Carlson was reportedly upset that the judge overseeing the Dominion case had agreed to redact that text as “his dislike of this executive was deep and enduring” and he wanted it to be made public. The Journal and Puck reported that fear of more such derogatory text being made public was one of the main reasons behind Carlson’s firing.
Further Reading
Here’s What Tucker Carlson Said In Lawsuits That Reportedly Led To His Firing (Forbes)
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Siladitya Ray