Tucker Carlson speaks out for 1st time after Fox News firing
Tucker Carlson, host of "Tucker Carlson Tonight," poses for photos in a Fox News Channel studio on March 2, 2017, in New York. Fox News says it has agreed to part ways with Tucker Carlson, less than a week after settling a lawsuit over the network’s 2020 election reporting. The network said in a press release Monday that the popular and controversial prime-time host's last program aired on Friday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
By DAVID BAUDER
AP Media Writer
NEW YORK — Tucker Carlson emerged Wednesday, two days after Fox News fired him, with a two-minute, campaign-style monologue that didn't address why he suddenly became unemployed.
He posted a video on Twitter shortly after 8 p.m. Eastern, the time his Fox show used to begin, that talked about a lack of honest political debate in the media.
Carlson said one of the things he noticed, “when you step away from the noise for a few days,” is how nice some people are, and how hilarious some are.
“The other thing you notice when you take a little time off is how unbelievably stupid most of the debates you see on television are,” he said. “They're completely irrelevant. They mean nothing. In five years we won't even remember we heard them. Trust me, as somebody who participated.”
Fox fired its most popular personality on Monday without explanation, less than a week after settling a lawsuit concerning the spread of lies about the 2020 presidential election.
The mystery about why Fox Corp. leadership, Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan, decided to suddenly dismiss Carlson lingered. The company has not explained it, although some media reports Wednesday centered on material uncovered during Dominion Voting Systems' lawsuit but redacted from court papers.
Private messages sent by Carlson with “highly offensive and crude remarks” were a “catalyst” in Fox's decision to cut him loose, according to The New York Times.
Both The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post said one redacted message included a slur against a senior Fox executive. Each of the reports relied on sources that were not identified.
Some of the Dominion evidence that was publicly revealed showed some offensive remarks by Carlson, including use of a vulgarity to refer to Sidney Powell, the Trump supporter who was pushing bogus election conspiracy theories on Fox and elsewhere.
A Fox News representative did not comment on the reports or Carlson's reemergence, instead referring to Monday's statement where the company said, “we thank him for his service.”
Carlson dressed in a suit and tie for his Twitter message. While he didn't mention Fox, it was reminiscent of the monologues he delivered on the network for the last six years, talking about “the people in charge” hurting the country. Debates on big topics like war, civil liberties, emerging science, demographic change and corporate power are not permitted by corporate media or political parties, he said.
“Where can you still find Americans saying true things?” he said. “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.”