A Very Unemployed Tucker Carlson Breaks His Silence
In Tucker Carlson’s first on-camera appearance since being fired from Fox News, the former host did not mention his ex-employer at all. Carlson, filming in the one corner of his home studio not marred by Fox branding he’s no longer allowed to use, didn’t say anything to shed clarity on his situation — but he did suggest that his career infecting American minds with hateful poison is not over.
At 8:01 PM, the time when just last week he would have been introducing his primetime Fox show, the former host released a two-minute video via his Twitter account. In it he warned, in his trademark wooly babble, of dark forces colluding to destroy free-thinking debate.
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“The undeniably big topics,” Carlson said, “the ones that will define our future get virtually no discussion at all. War, civil liberties, emerging science, demographic change, corporate power, natural resources, when was the last time you heard a legitimate debate about any of those issues?”
Good evening pic.twitter.com/SPrsYKWKCE
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) April 27, 2023
“Debates like that are not permitted in political media,” Carlson added, “This moment is too inherently ridiculous to continue, so it wont…the people in charge know this, that’s why they’re hysterical and aggressive, they’re afraid. They’ve given up persuasion, they’re resorting to force. But it won’t work.”
In perhaps the most direct reference to the executives at Fox who gave him the boot, Carlson said that “when honest people say what’s true, calmly, and without embarrassment, they become powerful. At the same time the liars shrink, and they become weaker. That’s the iron law of the universe: True things prevail.”
Carlson concluded with a vague allusion that he would be back. “Where can you still find Americans saying true things? There aren’t many places left, but there are some, and that’s enough. As long as you can hear the words, there is hope. See you soon.”
That Carlson did not directly address his ousting from Fox, or the reasoning behind it, is not surprising. As previously reported by Rolling Stone, Fox has hung a powerful sword of Damocles over Carlson’s head. Sources within the network say executives have built a damming oppo file on Carlson, that they plan to take advantage of should the former host attempt to torch them in the aftermath of his departure.
One ex-anchor indicated that Irena Briganti, Fox’s head of communications, keeps “ a file on everybody.… Any talent like Tucker would have a lot of things; other people complaining. They encourage it, and then just keep it on file. It’s just a classic dirty trick.”
A kingmaker within Republican politics, Carlson was given all but free reign at Fox to say and do whatever he wanted on air without fear of retribution from his employer. Virtually the only consequence Fox ever leveled against Carlson was his surprise dismissal on Monday. His former show Tucker Carlson Tonight trafficked in racism, discrimination, and conspiracies on an almost nightly basis, and has shaped a generation of conservative grievance politics.
Why Fox decided to give Carlson the ax remains a mystery, but there are still plenty of possible motives. Carlson and members of his former production team at Fox were sued by ex-producer Abby Grossberg, who alleged that Carlson oversaw an office environment rife with inappropriate conduct and harassment, and claims that the former host made her life “a living hell.”
Carlson may have many plans, but if anything can be learned from the career trajectories of former Fox stars such as Bill O’Reilly or Glenn Beck, the road ahead of him marks the descent from his summit.
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